


someplace, sometime

by gothwyfe



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Emily does too tho, Emily is rich, F/F, Ghosts, Ghoststory, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Suicide, JJ Has Issues, JJ has many many animals, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, actually this kind of became scary crazily ahah, chile- anyways, cottagecore au, i bring you happiness then pain then happiness then more pain, if that doesnt make you want to read this idk what will, omfg will is a golden retriever, russian buddies emily and spencer, super cute small town vibe too, they are the gay idiots, they will deal with some trauma, they're baby, this is basically just a bad hallmark movie but gay and what about it, um this took a turn, wise old man Rossi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 36,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25275907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothwyfe/pseuds/gothwyfe
Summary: Emily Prentiss- young, successful CEO of a multi-million dollar company, which she has owned and operated for years.Her biggest challenge yet? Two weeks in the home of a beautiful, strange woman in a beautiful, strange town.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 111
Kudos: 197





	1. dirty laundry

This is just her luck. 

She is so fucked. Of course (of goddamn course!) it would be her car to break down in the middle of buttfuck nowhere with no cell service. 

She honestly should have seen it coming- just another deck of cards the universe has dealt her to make her life a living hell. Should teach her to take other shady ass shortcuts.

She kicks the side of the car, pain exploding in her right shin. “Fuck you! Oh  _ hell  _ fuck you.” 

She turns on her cell once more, holding it high above her head in front of the burning sun praying for just one bar to get her ass out of this situation. Just one bar, just one- no dice.

In a bout of frustration, she throws the phone down, watching it smash into hundreds of glorious pieces. It brings her the slightest satisfaction before her face widens in horror. 

She shouldn’t have done that-

\--

Emily Prentiss- youngest ever CEO of the million-dollar ‘Quantico Security’ company. Handed down through the several generations of strong young Prentiss’s before stopping right on her raven head. 

She has led her company through ups and downs, and  _ now  _ through two economic recessions. Fair and just, she is quick to stop any injustices and prejudices in her company. She is decisive and intelligent, as you must be to keep such a company on its toes. Her character is carefully crafted through years of cultivation and grooming, so she may one day run this company. 

This means there was no time for her to learn about damn cars. 

She pops the hood, hoping that in her brain, somewhere, is a tidbit of miraculous information to get moving again. She frowns and flinches backwards at the hot steam trailing out of her car. 

Oh. 

That’s not good. 

After the steam dissipates enough for her to stick her head in, she looks over the contents of the car, compartmentalizing the few things a mandatory college engineering class taught her. For instance- the engine is there... and it is not on fire. That’s a start. 

  
  


Emily slams the hood back down, instead choosing to flop down against the front bumper of her car, and shield her head from the sun’s rays in the small cocoon her arms form over it. She sighs loudly, fighting back the ridiculous angry tears that always seem to form during situations like this. 

Emily Prentiss is the CEO of a security company, she boxes on weekends and carries a knife in the rare case someone ever wants to try it. She does not do ‘helpless’. And she  _ prefers  _ it that way. 

But recently it has become more common than not.

Quantico Security had been in a nosedive, after a whole situation.

The thing is, no one cares about security when the world is literally on fire. Her employees are turning their backs on her, and even her  _ stupid  _ cat back home was throwing up every night. 

The worst part? 

There is nothing she can do. No amount of marketing can save her damn company now. No matter how many boxes of donuts she brings in, her employees will always see her as the hardass boss. And Pepcid can only take little Sergio so far. 

She rubs the pads of her fingers over her face and blinks rapidly. Absolutely not. It is unbecoming of a young female CEO to cry in such a situation. 

She imagines her mother standing next to her, hearing the phantom of her voice in her mind.  _ ‘That is quite enough sulking now, Emily. We are adults and we deal with such situations in adult ways. Get your sore behind up and act like a real woman.’  _

Mother always knew how to make her feel better. 

She smiles wanly and pulls herself up to lean against the car. She’s right. The pity party is over, and Emily is a survivor. 

She thinks back to the route she had been on before her cell service cut off. She had pulled off the highway about an hour ago, driving through several local roads… a few straggling houses… but no rest spots. Oh! Yeah, about 30 minutes ago she passed a dinky little sign for a small town. 

God- that was almost 15 miles back. 

Emily groans, pounding the top of her car with her perfectly manicured hand. Maybe she was done with her pity party, but she still had plenty of spite left. 

She reaches over the passenger seat of her car and grabs the half-bottle of water and hat from the overnight bag in her back seat, and after a second of deliberating, grabs her switchblade, tucking it into her boot. Better safe than sorry. 

She was supposed to be at the Hilton East in 2 hours, enjoying a nice night of relaxation. Just one spa day in a year of 6-day work weeks- that's all she asked. 

She trudged forward, slapping the hat on her head, leaving her car behind to overheat on the side of the single-lane road. 

In retrospect, it was a bad idea from the start. 

She hadn’t seen proof of life in almost 15 minutes and she was exhausted, soon to be delirious from the steadily rising heat. No matter how strong, if some serial killer was to grab she’d probably just accept it at this point. 

Maybe even make some conversation, get to know the man before he chops her into 300 little pieces. 

She groans, hand coming up to wipe at sweat beading her forehead. How damn long has it been? She feels like she’s been slogging along this pot-hole ridden road for hours. 

Emily leans down to stop under a particularly nice spot of shade under an oak tree. She takes a long drag from her water-bottle, only to find it empty. She chases the last drop with her tongue before leaning her aching head against the oak tree. 

Eyes closed, she once again wonders, why her? 

You know, she’s a decent gal. She donates and sometimes hosts volunteer events for at-risk kids. She hires convicts and single moms. She extends company parental leave so people can have some time with her damn newborns. 

Emily spends a few more minutes in the cool shade, hidden from the sun before dizzily stumbling to her feet to continue her journey. God, is she drenched. She feels like she just jumped in the damn ocean. Except the ocean was -30 or something because her skin is. Fucking. Freezing.

She plows on towards the maybe-doesn’t-exist town, the last hope. Should she accept death? It must have been at least a few hours of walking at this point. 

Absentmindedly, she goes through her will. Not that it would do any good-

Her foot screams in protest, and she gasps, grabbing it. She falls against the hot pavement, trying to massage the skin through her boot.

Distantly, she realizes that muscle cramps come far along the road of heat exhaustion. And she’s been trudging along in the hot sun for a while now. _ Shit shit shit shit- _

Emily hisses at the feeling of getting up. She doesn’t know who is controlling her body at this point, but she thanks whoever pulled her up. Her mother’s voice echoes in her mind, sternly saying ‘ _ Prentiss’s do not die so disgracefully, on the side of a road rarely traveled before. Get up, and die like a real woman.’ _

Her mother is right, if she ever dies it will be in the style of a dramatic Norse saga. Definitely not so pathetically. She starts a continuous rhythm of right foot forward, left foot forward, right foot forward, left foot forward, right foot- 

She makes the conscious effort to open her eyes. When had they closed again? Her blurred vision leads to maybe a woman in front of her… woah. 

“Oh crap. Are- are you okay?” The Most Gorgeous Woman She Has Ever Seen’s face swims into focus. 

The angel woman grabs her by the arms and forces her head to look straight, where Emily stares right into her eyes which are the deepest, most gorgeously cerulean that she almost forgets she is about to die. 

Emily laughs under her breath. Maybe god doesn’t hate her if the last thing she gets before her untimely death is a beautiful woman concerned about her. 

Woah. Hold on. Is this woman the serial killer? 

“What?”

Emily weakly raises her right arm to scare away the killer, but it instead falls lamely at her side. A cool hand presses into her side, and it takes her a moment to register that it was the woman’s. 

“Hello? Oh god, you are sweating buckets. Let’s get you into town- Woah! Hey! Hey, stay w- Morgan!? Morgan!” 

Yeah. Emily is okay with those gorgeous blue eyes being the last thing she sees before her vision swarms with black, and she slumps down to the gravelly ground. 

\--

Emily dreams of an angel. A blonde angel who beckons her to a lake full of lilies. Light- light which is both bright and calming, warm yet cool enough to coat her and the angel in a blue glaze, and Emily answers her call. Emily takes the angel’s hand, feather-light in her own smooth palm, and she steps close to the angel. A boat appears and she and the angel step in. But there is a darkness in the boat which is too strong- it swallows her and the angel right up and spits them back out and the angel is  _ begging  _ her to help and god she wants to but there is something-  _ no  _ someone holding her, holding her away from the angel and she is  _ trying-  _

Emily blinks awake, her vision slowly clearing as her brain wakes back up. 

Where-?

She stretches her legs under the soft, fine-grained blanket, hearing her arms crack as she extends them. 

She lays back, taking stock. 

The thread-count on this blanket was clearly very high. At the very least her captor had taste. 

She notices a few bare lightbulbs precariously strung above her head on a thick piece of twine. She shifted her neck, wincing at the soreness that presented itself. To her right was a pole… connected to an IV? 

She had an IV in her arm? 

What kind of kidnapping  _ was  _ this? 

She closed her eyes, groaning softly, wracking her head for any answer to how she ended up here.

She remembers feeling so, so hot, before feeling way too cold, she remembers pieces of something glinting in the golden sun, and she remembers deep blue eyes alight with- 

She heard a door creak open far away, and she jerked her left leg up to grab the switchblade in her arms. 

“Hello!” a male voice says. A very shaggy, skinny, tall man moves into view. He smiles at her-  _ bastard  _ of a kidnapper. At  _ least  _ have the respect to not smile at her. He moves closer, to inspect the IV in her arm, and quick as a flash, the arm holding her blade slices up, stopping dangerously close to the skinny man’s pale throat. 

“Who are you!” Emily demands. She shakes the blade, moving it ever so closer. “Why are you keeping me here? Let me go!” 

Emily shifts her weight onto her free arm, trying to sit up but quickly falling back. Fuck. 

Skinny man grabs the fallen knife and moves back, fear fading from his eyes.

“Woah, woah, woah. I’m not  _ keeping  _ you or anything!  _ You’re  _ the one who stumbled into our town, half-dead! Who do you think nursed you back to health?” He says pointedly. He sets the knife down on the tabletop. 

Emily groans, head feeling heavy on the admittedly-nice pillow. “Don-Don’t try to fool me!” she stammers out. God, does her head hurt. Maybe sitting up was not such a good idea. She should have threatened skinny man while still laying down. “I know how you serial killers work. You were probably going to like, do human experiments on me! I know it!” 

She does not know it.

“What!” Skinny man looks very offended. “I do not do human experiments. Or even animal experiments. You know, human experimentation has been on the heavy decline since the Nazi experimentation in the 40s.” 

Emily glares at him, head still glued to the pillow. “So you’re a Nazi?”

Skinny man reels back. “What the hell! First of all, I’m Jewish!” 

“Oh.” 

Emily once again analyzes her situation. The man standing in front of her doesn’t seem like a threat, and if he was honestly going to kill her or use her to find out how much saltwater the human body could intake or something, he should have started by now. 

“Uh. My bad then.” 

The man stares at her cautiously, before carefully replying. “It’s okay, I guess.” He grabs a chair and sits down next to her bed (yet still a safe distance away), and Emily inwardly groans before moving her neck to look the man in the eyes. Her mother had ingrained that into her; always look a fellow in the eye when speaking. 

“So I guess you’re wondering what happened.” 

Emily nods, head swimming with the effort of moving around. “A-and what this is for.” She lifts the arm with the IV a few inches off the bed. 

“You have a pretty common cause of heat exhaustion,” That makes sense. What with her exhaustion and all. “I don’t know why you were wandering around on one of the hottest days of the year, wearing possibly the most suffocating clothes possible, but you were, and the sun got to you. Not to worry though!” he adds, obviously catching the horrified look on her face. “You’re fine! We got you before it got any worse. Wait, not get you- like we found you-” he hurries, “well, not found you. You kinda collapsed in JJ’s arms, murmuring about a serial killer and how you were okay with dying now? Uhhh… do you remember now?” he asks sheepishly.

Shit. If Emily’s head was not already pounding so bad, she would probably ram it through some drywall. 

Yeah, she remembers.

She remembers the gorgeous woman who caught her  _ and  _ her damn car.

And god does she want to forget. 

He must catch the embarrassment on her face judging by the annoying little smirk painted on his stupid little face. “It wasn’t that bad! I swear. You were a little messed up and all, but it was okay because it’s just JJ, and  _ honestly  _ we all understand how bad the sun gets around here.” 

Yeah. It was bad. 

Emily groans, moving her neck back so she was laying on her back once again. Shame wracks through her body. 

In the back of her brain, she once again sees Ambassador Prentiss. She doesn’t say anything this time, just shakes her head in clear disapproval.

Ouch. Thanks, mom. 

Skinny man points at the IV. “That’s just to get enough fluids back into you. You lost quite a lot, but we can take it out tomorrow probably. You were only out for about,” his nose scrunches, “half a day? Yeah. Around that.”

“Thanks, doc,” Emily grumbles. 

Skinny man shifts his foot around, twiddling his thumbs and playing with a thick ring on his forefinger. Does this guy ever sit still? 

“What?” Emily rolls her eyes. He is obviously trying to get something out of her. Might as well get it over with. 

“Who are you?” He replies immediately. “What even happened? I know you remember!” he says, jabbing his finger. “So don’t lie to me.” He furrows his brow. “Well, actually I guess you could. It’s not like I could do anything about it anyways. But you might as well tell me.”

“Eh. It’s really not that interesting.” Emily shrugs. Or she could just say her damn car broke down a few miles out. 

“Everyone’s story is a little interesting.” A new voice pipes up. Emily, on instinct, swivels her neck around to look at the intruder, eyesight going blank as her head explodes. 

“Woah! Calm down for a second!” A pair of warm hands right her head, gently placing her back onto the soft pillow. 

Emily’s head clears before she can catch long, wavy blonde hair right in front of her. The soft hands are tan and clean and… woah. Those are the most gorgeous hands she has ever before seen. The nails are cut short, and her hands are slender yet strong. It is clear they are the hands of someone who has worked for the majority of their life, calloused and covered in veins. They fit perfectly around her jaw, lingering against the side of her neck.

The hands quickly pull away. Emily fights the urge to whine. 

Emily blinks again, clearing her spinning vision enough to look up. Standing next to the skinny man is the angel.. from her dreams? 

Oh. 

Oh no, this is the angel from real life. 

This must be JJ. 

The beautiful woman who heroically caught pathetic Emily on the side of a fucking road, basically dead. 

“You okay?” Must-be-JJ-but-actually-is-an-angel questions. “Looks like she needs to stay here a while longer,” she adds to the skinny man.

Emily groans. “Nooo, no I’m okay. I just need to stop moving my head around so fast.”

“You are right about that! But wrong about everything else,” skinny man says. “You have to stay for at least another half-day. You’re severely dehydrated and totally exhausted. Don’t try to argue!” he says, seeing her open her mouth to clearly argue. 

Doctor man is a little right. She is really, really tired. Especially after this latest stint with like, moving her head. She was  _ not  _ ready for that. 

JJ looks at her with pity and concern drawn all over her face. “Hey,” JJ says softly. “Why don’t you try to go back to sleep for a while? We’ll be right here when you wake up, okay?”

JJ’s voice is so relaxing and soft. It’s really nice, actually. She should narrate an audiobook or something. Emily feels her eyes grow heavy with the effort of almost slicing the Doctor’s throat open and all this thinking and moving. 

“Just take a little nap, okay? It’s going to be fine.” 

JJ’s voice fades away as Emily falls into a deep slumber. She’s right- it is going to be fine.

\--

Emily awakes again to the gorgeous angel of a woman they call JJ asleep on the wooden chair across from her bed. Her face leaned against the hardback of the wood chair and her shoulder, forcing her jaw to jut out. Her pink, plump lips were slightly ajar. Her chest, clothed in a loose white t-shirt rose and fell slightly with each deep breath.

Emily is honestly annoyed. Who in the hell sleeps beautifully?

Skinny man grins at her. “Welcome back!” he moves closer before seemingly double thinking that decision. “You don’t have another knife or something, right?” He holds his hands up in defeat. 

Emily clears her throat. “I don’t.” Damn, is her throat dry. Skinny man must catch on because he offers her a cup of water. She greedily chugs it down, not even considering the implication that it may be poison instead. 

Doctor man takes the cup back, re-filling it for her. “I’m Spencer. While you were asleep I figured you probably would want to know what the hell is going on,” he says rubbing his neck. 

“Anyways, you’re currently in Sparrow Falls.” She narrows her eyes.

“... Never heard of it.” 

“Yeah,” he chuckles. “Makes sense. It’s a really, really tiny town. There’s only like, 200 of us here.” 

“I’m kind of the doctor around here, though I do a lot of other stuff too. This is JJ- she farms most of our food. You’re currently in ah, my house.”

Emily sits up a little straighter, startled. Who is this guy? A doctor who houses random people who wander in off the street? 

He’s either a total creep or possibly the nicest man ever. 

“So what’s your story?” he inquires. “You never got around to telling me.” 

Emily gets steady on her elbows, before slowly pushing herself up. Spencer’s hands come forward to guide her back up and to help if she were to fall back down. She shifts around, still holding the blanket around her chest and settles against the white brick wall. She blows air out her mouth in a small circle and rests her head back. 

“Like I said before. Not that interesting. I’m Emily, and my car broke down a few miles back.” 

“Not many uninteresting people carry knives in her boots.” A gentle voice piped up. JJ yawned and stretched her arms, showing off pale muscles in the warm sun peeping through the east window. She holds out her hand. “JJ,” she smiles.  _ God _ , her smile is that of a million suns.

Emily thinks she is seeing stars again. 

“Emily.” she stammers, instinctually grabbing the hand firmly. “Emily Prentiss.” 

JJ raises an eyebrow, hand falling to her side. “What are you doing around here?”

Emily huffs, suddenly remembering the royal treatment she had booked at the Hilton East. The warm cloth, and  _ fuck _ \- she had even booked a nice mud bath. “It was supposed to be my day off. I had a nice spa and hotel booked, and I thought this shortcut would get me there quicker,” she grumbles.

Her eyes widen quickly, “Crap! They probably think I’m like, dead or something!” she looks imploringly at JJ. “You guys got a phone?” 

JJ purses her lips. “No, we don’t really have much service around here. But the town hall has a few payphones? I’m sure you could reach whoever you need to, there.” 

Emily furrows her brow. “Payphones? What is this, 1963?” 

“Hey, don’t knock them until you’ve tried them.” JJ responds lightly. “Spence, is she okay to get up and go around?” 

Spencer shrugs. “We took the IV out a while ago… so I guess so?”

Emily snorts. “I guess so? Aren’t you a doctor or some crap?”

“Well… not really. At least not a medical one.”

“Are you for real?” Did a fake doctor just stick shit in her arm?

JJ steps in. “He’s basically a doctor. He memorized like every single medical book in existence. Trust me,” she says looking right at Emily with those gorgeous eyes. “He’s our best bet.” 

Whatever. She’s not dead yet. And for some reason, she is compelled to do whatever JJ says. 

“So,” JJ continues. “I’ll take you to town hall, and you can call who you need to, cool? And then we can figure out what comes next.” Emily nods limply

\--

“Town Hall” turns out to be some dude's living room. 

Granted, the guy has a huge house and the living room is probably the size of an entire 2 bed and 2 bathroom apartment. Still, it’s the principle of it. 

A spry old man walks out of one of the various doors while JJ tries all the phones, trying to find the ‘one that works today’, whatever that means. 

“It’s number 8 today,” the silver-haired guy says. 

“Rossi!” JJ smiles that brilliant megawatt smile, and Emily feels a pang of something at the fact that it’s not directed at her any longer. 

God, this town is making her weird. 

“You happen to know where Morgan is? She,” JJ jerks her head towards Emily, blonde hair flying, “needs her car towed a few miles from here.” 

Rossi waves his hand in a ‘don’t-worry-about-it-gesture’, “I’ll get him. You have enough for the phone?” 

JJ nods, already fitting the glittering coins through a small slit in the wall by phone number 8. “You got your number?” 

Emily punches in the numbers, holding the phone close and listening to the phone ring- pick up, please, pick up, pick up, pick up- 

“Hello?” Hotch’s deep, gravelly voice floats through the phone. Emily sighs in relief. At least she can catch one break.

“Hey Hotch. Um.. what’s up?” she cringes at her own words. 

“Emily?” she can almost imagine the stupid face he would make if he were here. Lower his eyebrows and start with a disdain only a father could truly perfect. Ah, how she misses that. “Why are you calling me? You know I’m on vacation right now… this isn’t about work is it?”

Emily does know he is on vacation right now. A gorgeous 2 week vacation in Cabo, with his super hot wife. A vacation that his wife almost cut Emily’s head off to guarantee. “No! No it’s not that… just ah… my car broke down? In the middle of nowhere?” 

“...Okay?” She hears the unspoken words- ‘And what the fuck do you want me to do about it?’ “So uh… canyoucomegetmein. In Sparrow Falls. Virginia?” 

“...”

Yeah. It's times like these she wishes she had a life outside work. Just  _ one  _ other friend. It’s not much to ask. 

“You know I’m in Cabo, right?”

“Yeah…”

“For two weeks?” 

“...yeah…”

Hotch sighs into the phone. “I’m not leaving my gorgeous wife and gorgeous vacation to come get you.” 

Emily rolls her eyes. Some friend, huh? 

“I can come get you when I get back? 2 weeks?” 

“Yeah. That sounds good. I guess.” It does not sound good. Emily doubts this place accepts card, so she basically has no money in a strange town. 

“Don’t sound like a grounded teen.” she always does anyway- “You know, you need a vacation anyways. Take advantage of this time. I’ll tell the board; you know you have more than enough days.” Hotch scolds. “I never know how you get yourself into these messes.” she hears a distant yell, and Hotch’s laugh. “I gotta go, have fun or whatever!” The line goes dead. 

“So, your friend is coming to get you?” JJ asks. “Morgan’s already gone out to get your car, by the way. He’ll probably tow it to the city, it’s about 45 minutes south of here. You can pick it up on your back.” 

Emily purses her lips. “Um yeah. He’s coming. It’s just going to take him.... 2 weeks”

JJ whistles. “Damn. He sure is in a rush, huh?” Emily laughs, grateful for her glossing over the unasked questions implicated in her predicament. “Um. We could probably take you to the city? Or…” 

Emily lifts a brow. “Or?” she says, amused. 

“Well you know.” JJ’s face is slowly growing pink. It’s a good look on her, Emily contemplates. Brings out how her face glows. “You could probably stay with me. In my cabin. That I own. I have extra rooms.” 

Emily’s face splits in a smile. 

“You know, I may take you up on that. What’s this cabin like?” 

  
  
  



	2. that bastard duck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily makes a new friend; a small altercation takes place.

JJ opens the door to her cabin with a wide small, gesturing to the large-open floor room with open arms. “What do you think?” She says brightly. 

Emilly is definitely caught off guard. “Oh! It’s so… nice. Very unique.” 

It’s an absolute dumpster fire. 

“I love the artistic liberty with the decor! Very uh- bold.” Okay, sue her. 

She kept her own penthouse like she kept her life; tidy and kempt. Emily was a firm believer in appearances reflecting and affecting one’s mental state. 

If that is to be true, JJ  _ must _ seek medical help immediately. 

To be completely frank, it looked like a hippie van, a witch’s cabin, and a teenager who had recently discovered pot had thrown up all over the cabin. 

The first thing to assault Emily’s senses is a truly astronomical amount of cinnamon and lavender scent. The two separate would be pleasant, but the blend (which  _ must _ have been done on purpose by JJ) was not the nicest sensation. 

The entrance to the cottage were several different slaps of paint, some almost close enough to match- however far apart enough in shade to see a clear difference. Under the uneven paint was scratched dark wood paneling, covered in many different colored coats and scarves. 

_ ‘At least you can’t see the paint here’ _ Emily mused to herself in the hallway. The walls were covered in various taped and framed pictures and shelves housing several plants. A quick glance granted that the portraits were all of people she hadn’t met save for the Skinny Doctor appearing in quite a few, and a woman who looked a lot like JJ laughing in even more of them. 

Emily yelps, tripping. “Watch out!” JJ admonishes, steadying her with her hands. JJ reaches down, placing the bowl down beside several others, forming a neat rainbow. How precious. 

The hallway devolved in an open space kitchen, living room, and small dining nook. There was one wall dividing the kitchen from the living room, and ignoring a very large and ornately-floral decorated column in the middle of the living room, the rooms flowed together. 

The beech kitchen counters were stacked to the brim with colorful pans and jars. Peering in, she could see a mountain of unwashed dishes in the huge basin that Emily guesses is a sink. And  _ even _ more, jars filled with colorful jams. God, there was a cabinet in the middle of the kitchen floor just for bread! A few stark white cabinet doors were left hanging open, revealing many fun-shaped cutting boards, utensils, a lot of fruits, and considerably fewer vegetables. There was a mini-fridge in the corner of the cluttered kitchen. 

JJ faced the living room, which was covered in a large fluffy cream rug under several large, loved, couches, and chairs. The walls were covered in grand bookcases, holding several knick-knacks, books, crystals, and plants. However, one wall was knocked out to reveal  _ huge _ French windows, opened to shower the room in the evening glow. 

Emily gaped, looking over at JJ before snapping her jaw shut.

The sepia light gently covered the high points of her face, basking her in a light sent by the gods. Probably. Her skin looked smooth and soft, long blonde hair looking like honey pooling around her head in soft waves. Her pink lips pressed together, leaving Emily to imagine around what it  _ could _ be, and- and  _ god _ her eyes. The orange only accented the ocean-blue of JJ’s eyes. The sun reflected off her eyes, revealing undertones of warm brown and hints of green. 

“-ily?” Emily snapped back to reality. Who possessed her and made her so creepy all of a sudden? “What, I got something on my face or something?” JJ quipped. 

Emily forced a laugh, looking away quickly. She doesn’t know at what, it just had to be anything but the sight standing next to her. Maybe she wasn’t as tidy and kempt as she previously thought.

“So um, where’s my room?” 

\--

Emily woke up screaming. 

She was not thinking about what the morning would be like, or what she’d awake to. She was hoping it would be the beautiful sunrise, or maybe (if she was lucky) JJ would wake her up in her cute little lilac nightgown and bring her a sexy breakfast or something. Or you know, she would even take a  _ normal _ wake to the borrowed sheets or the wall. 

So honestly, it’s not her fault. A feral duck trying to shit on one’s face is a startling sight to anyone. 

Said bastard duck flapped its dirty wings in her face and leaps off the bed, quacking at her indignantly. As if it has the grounds to be offended. 

Emily’s chest heaves as she gasps in breaths, running a shaky hand through her bedhead. JJ runs into the room (in that cute little lilac nightgown), concern written all over her face. 

It is  _ such _ a cute look on her. 

Her eyebrows are pressed together, and her mouth has dropped into a sweet little ‘O’, and her muscles are tense like she’s expecting a fight. Concern, anger, and annoyance are written all over her face. Emily is weirdly turned on.

“What the hell? Are you okay? Why are you screaming?” JJ says sharply, stepping into the room cautiously. 

“This fucking duck was in my fucking face!” As far gone as Emily is for JJ’s immeasurable cuteness, she can never excuse poor hospitality. And random ducks in one’s home is a big no-no in the book of hosting guests. 

JJ’s confusion and anger fade from her face. She shakes her head, spotting the spawn of satan squawking resentfully under the nightstand next to Emily. In one smooth motion, she scoops the duck up into her arms and coos at it. “Aw, Henry! Looks like you met Miss Emily!” she says in the ridiculously high pitched voice. 

“Say hi Emily!” JJ brings that bitch duck closer to Emily. 

Emily scrunches her nose up at the duck. “Aww, hi Henry!” she parrots in that fake, nasally voice. “You and I have a bone to pick, huh!  _ Eat bricks _ !” 

JJ frowns. “Wow. Looks like Miss Emily is not a fan, Henry.” She sets the ugly little guy down, and he waddles out of Emily’s room. Good riddance. 

“You know, I may have to keep you around. Hell of a wake-up call. Didn’t have to hit snooze even once.”

Emily flops back onto the bed. “Keep that duck around me and you’ll get used to it.”

“Yeah, Henry is the spoiled one of the group. I just can’t say no to those big eyes, you know? But Will is my favorite.” 

“What? Who’s Will?” 

As if on cue, a huge golden retriever comes flopping into the room, holding a ball and wagging a big tail. JJ squats down, her already small lilac nightgown riding up, exposing the tops of her tanned thighs, dangerously close to too revealing. “ _ This _ ,” she gushes against the golden retriever’s neck, “is Will. Wanna go for a walk, boy? Ready for a little jog?” She takes the ball out of Will’s mouth, moving it above his head in a circle and throwing it out into the living room. 

JJ chuckles, turning back to Emily. “I’ll be back in 15. Why don’t you get freshened up, and we can make some breakfast. Ooh, then I’ll introduce you to the gang!” She claps her hands together, eyes alighting with excitement. “Be back soon!” 

\---

Emily saw it last night. 

But JJ’s problem somehow is so much worse at 8 am. 

The cabin is stock-full of the most absurd shit ever. Just on her way to the bathroom, she counts 9 garden gnomes  _ in _ the  _ house _ , three of the same blanket, and seven terrariums. Seven! That is entirely too many. 

The floor is relatively clean of paraphernalia, most of her items cluttering the large mahogany bookshelves on any uncovered wall. Emily steps around a gigantic dog cage and bumps her head on a hanging plant. It tips dangerously before she snaps her arms out to steady it. 

The bathroom counters house several jars of some kind of solution. There are at least three plants in the tiny room, one of them being right in the shower. Emily only thinks about what kind of situation warrants a shower plant for a second, before grabbing the new toothbrush that JJ left out for her, and wiping some cool water down her face, drying it quickly. She fools around with her bedhead in the mirror, getting most of it to lay flat but her bangs annoyingly refuse to listen. Ugh, whatever. 

She hears a distant door open as she finishes up on the toilet, and her stomach strangely leaps to her throat. 

“Emily?” JJ’s voice calls? “You decent?” 

Emily lets out a quick ‘yes’ from the bathroom, stepping out and faced with a very excitable Will bounding at her. Will jumps at her, knocking her to the floor. “Woah, boy!” Emily laughs, steadying herself on her knees and scratching at his ears. Dogs like that right? 

Will settles for a split second at her itching, before leaping up once more and bounding right back out the open back door. JJ giggles, offering Emily a helping hand back up. “We don’t get many new people around here. Forgive him for being a little aggressive.” 

“You don’t have to ask me twice. I’m personally more of a cat person, but I will make the occasional exception for big happy blonde dogs.” 

“Cats? Do you have one?”

“Yeah,” she holds her arms out about the length of Sergio apart. “A tiny little black cat named Sergio. He’s a bitch, but I miss him so much.” 

JJ leads her to the kitchen, her hips sashaying ever so slightly. Woah. 

“-ing we could make pancakes?” Emily blinks. 

“Oh yeah. Yeah, sounds good.” 

JJ grins, reaching into one of the cabinets pulling out a hairdryer, three cans of beans, sunglasses, and, at last, a bag of flour. 

“What are you, Mary Poppins?” Emily says incredulously. In what world is  _ this _ a Thing? 

JJ grabs some baking powder and sugar from the inside of a very large pot. “Here, pour these into some random pot. I’m getting eggs real quick.” And she breezes away, leaving behind the scent of warm vanilla. 

Emily does as told. And waits. 

Waits a little longer. 

She stares at the dry mixture and decides to take some matters into her own hands. If JJ suddenly got busy and Emily decided to just take charge, she would definitely win some brownie points. Emily smiles, pouring milk, and some butter into the mix. 

She bets JJ would come in with the eggs and flash her that blinding white smile, and her eyes would light up with affection. At the sight of her. And then Emily would crack the eggs with one hand in a very badass hot way and JJ would go weak at the knees and the noble,  _ heroic _ Emily would catch her from her fall while still saving the pancake mix. 

This is not what happens. 

Instead, JJ storms in, her usual put together blonde hair strewn all over her face, precariously holding a few already broken eggs together in her arms. JJ grumbles, dumping the eggs (eggshells and all) into the mixture, and leaning over the counter to try and pick the shell out. 

“Woah,” Emily says, moving away from the mixture as JJ stalks to it. “Your chicken got possessive or something?” 

“Yes.” JJ grumbles, eyebrows dipping in concentration. Her pink tongue darts out to lick at her finger as she wets and dips it into the mix to snag a few more pieces of shell. “That is exactly what happened. You think Henry is a piece of shit? Wait until you meet Jordan. She’s gonna be the death of me.” 

Emily laughs. “You have a chicken, a duck, and a dog? What is this, some kind of farm?” 

“Uh, yeah. What did you think, I live in a cottage in the middle of nowhere and work at an insurance firm or something?” Looks like Jordan the chicken has JJ in a very bad mood. Note to self- do not annoy the chicken. Lord knows one spoiled bird is enough for Emily to deal with. 

“Oh. Um, what do you do? On this farm. That you apparently own.” Wow. Way to fucking go. Very heroic and badass. 

JJ rolls her eyes and shifts her weight onto her elbows on the counter. She sighs, leaning one hand against her face, looking mockingly at Emily through her lashes. “Well, you know. Farm, evade the IRS, lure heat-stricken strangers back to my cabin to kill, pick berries. The usual?” 

Emily holds her hands up, laughing. “Spare me, oh powerful one.” 

JJ rolls her eyes, a teasing smile on her lips. “I’ll consider it.”

She steps forward, “-Here, let me help with that-” too preoccupied with the way JJ’s waist easily twists when going to hold out the bowl to notice an inconvenient spoon right in her path. 

She slips- no, more accurately, tumbles- over the spoon, careening forward, hand grabbing the bowl of pancake mix and flipping it right over, the wet slosh flying out into JJ’s face. Emily smacks her head hard on the counter, going down for the count. Her body thumps against the sticky floor just as JJ yells out. 

No. That did not just happen. 

Emily Prentiss is the youngest female CEO of a previously successful security company. She is suave and strong, speaks her mind, and has not spilled something in almost 6  _ years _ . Yes, she had kept count. 

But she spends two days in buttass nowhere Sparrow Falls, and she has passed out in the arms of a gorgeous woman, spectacularly failed at stabbing a tall Jewish man (who she called a nazi-), almost shit her pants when a fucking duck got the jump on her, and now tripped over a spoon spilling eggshell-filled pancake mix all over said gorgeous woman who saved her life. 

This is why she doesn’t take vacations. 

Emilly groans from her spot face-down on the floor. “Oh my god. Did that just happen? Tell me that didn’t just happen. Holy shit I am so, incredibly, sorry-” she sits up, rubbing her forehead. That counter is definitely going to leave a nice red mark. She’s sure JJ will just want to jump her bones with how attractive that bump is going to be. 

JJ’s earlier crankiness is nothing compared to her face now. She stands there, gaping, fingers swiping the mix from her eyes. She opens her eyelids, baby blue eyes that would normally melt Emily currently revealing a  _ ‘you are going to die a painful death’ _ kind of look all over them. Emily cringes on the floor. She wonders, distracted, how any chicken could fight such a look of pure anger. JJ breathes in through her nose, clearly a breath taken to calm herself. “It’s okay,” she says slowly through gritted teeth. 

Emily spins around, looking around the kitchen for a rag. “I usually never trip. I actually haven’t spilled anything in like, 6 years,” she says, and immediately regrets. That’s a really weird thing to know! 

Whatever, she’ll reprimand herself later. She grabs a scratchy green cloth, turns around moving her hands up to help JJ wipe the sludge off her face-

Emily’s face scrunches up, stopping dead in her tracks. 

Something just hit her. 

She thinks? 

She blinks her eyes open cautiously, seeing JJ standing in front of her with the bag of flour in her arm. JJ grins when their eyes meet. 

Oh. So this is how it's going to play out. 

Emily drops the cloth, and quick as lightning snatches a container of cinnamon and throws it right in JJ’s gleaming face. JJ spits, “What the hell! That was so hard to grind-” 

“All is fair in love and war, blondie,” Emily laughs. She ducks her head under her arm as another spray of flour hits her in the face. Emily blindly shakes the cinnamon around, laughing. For a foolish, blind second, she looks up around her arm. Only to be met with the wet slap of liquid being nicely acquainted with her face. 

She had pulled out the milk. 

“Ohhhhh shit!” JJ cackles “I didn’t think I was gonna get you so goo-” her sentence breaks off mid-scream as Emily charges forward, her shoulder meeting JJ’s stomach, and hoisting her easily above the ground. Emily wraps her arms around JJ’s waist and spins her around. 

“Get me so what, blondie?” Emily howls. “Word of advice-  _ never _ get in a food fight with Emily Prentiss.” 

JJ cackles louder, leaning over Emily’s shoulder to pound on her back. “PUT me down!” she yells, only half-serious. Nevertheless, Emily gently sets the smaller woman down, briefly leaning to catch her breath as JJ straightens up. 

JJ’s eyes focus on Emily’s lips. Her heavy breathing ghosts Emily’s neck, and her usual vanilla scent is clouded by the overpowering stench of cinnamon. JJ’s haphazard chicken-fight hair stands up from the static of being against Emily’s shirt.

Standing this close to each other, Emily can count each of JJ’s eyelashes, even as they flutter under Emily’s unwavering gaze. 

Almost as if in slow-motion, JJ’s hand comes up to reach at the right corner of Emily’s lips. Her fingers settle under her chin (still dripping with milk), and her thumb gently wipes a wet spot from her mouth. Emily, on instinct, lets her mouth fall open, and JJ’s thumb shifts  _ ever _ so slightly closer. In a trance-like state, Emily’s hands grab at JJ’s waist, and they step closer so that JJ’s chest touches her own, electricity coursing through her veins at the soft pads of JJ’s hand on her cheek- 

“Um,” JJ lets go first, yet Emily is the one to break the charged silence. 

“Yeah. Yes.” JJ keeps her gaze steadily downward. 

“We should,” Emily gestures vaguely. 

“Get cleaned up.” JJ finishes for her. “Uh. You have some clothes right?” Emily nods mutely. “I’m gonna- yeah,” and JJ leaves Emily behind in the sopping wet kitchen, hands burning with the absent feeling of her near.

She doesn't admit that she would do anything to feel it again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i fucking lost my airpods down a drain. fml. even more than that? the 'asdf' keys on my computer dont work so i have to use the on-screen keyboard to type here. first-world problems IKKK but omg if they dont fuck me up bruh.  
> in other news im having trouble with chapter 3. its mostly written but i am not satisfied. wish me luck!


	3. two daffodils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily is gay, and JJ is hiding something.

JJ waltzes over town like she owns it. 

Emily supposes it makes sense. She has never lived anywhere long enough to form an attachment to an area, as the daughter of an ambassador, but after just 2 days in Sparrow Falls she wants nothing more than this town and it’s inhabitants to be happy. Those feelings are likely to intensify if one were to live here for nearly 20 years. 

The town itself is barely big enough to be considered that- it reminds Emily of a village she saw once while living in India. Little houses and cottages like JJ’s litter the sides of the maybe 4 big dirt roads, and there is one main strip of road lined with shops, kiosks, and a diner. At the end of this strip is Rossi’s house/town hall. 

From out of the shops she can make out a few- ‘Elle’s Closet’, seemingly a boutique, all high-fashion and modern from the window, ‘Blake’s Books’, a homely looking bookshop with a few cats basking in the entrance, and ‘Simmons Martial Arts’. She shakes JJ’s arms, pointing at the open door. 

“You’re telling me you guys have a martial arts academy here?” 

JJ smiles. “We actually get a lot of outsiders here for the shops. Elle’s store gets the most foot traffic, but Simmons’ class is in high demand.” she lowers her voice, “I’m currently in the adult class. Don’t tell anyone but I’m this close to kicking his ass.”

Emily gapes. “Who _are_ you?” 

She bows, “Jennifer Jareau, maker of jams, and kicker of asses.” Emily grins, and she straightens and pulls her by the hand. 

Her hand fits very nicely in JJ’s, Emily notes. Her fingers curl around JJ’s calloused palm easily, her thumb fitting around the crook in her wrist without hesitation. JJ’s cut fingernails rest on the edge of Emily’s hand, her thumb fitting over Emily’s first knuckle. The touch itself is electrifying, just as it was before in that messy kitchen. 

JJ stops in front of a horrendous bright red and blue diner. The front door is ajar, letting cool air out to breeze over their faces. The neon front sign reads ‘Gideon’s’. 

They walk in, JJ waving ecstatically to Spencer from before, sitting with a very brightly dressed woman and a man with extremely thick eyebrows. She walks over, giving the dizzying woman and the man a quick hug. 

“Guys! This is Emily, she’s staying with me for the next 2 weeks.” 

Emily shortly waves at them, saying a little hello. 

The man raises his caterpillars at the sight of her. “Hey, isn’t this the woman that passed out on the road? That we had to drag over here?” Fuck. 

Emily feels herself turning a very flattering shade of tomato red, not unlike her shirt. 

“Morgan,” JJ hisses, “show a little tact.” 

“Uh. My bad.” Emily finds herself saying. Businesswoman tactics demanding her to do some damage control. “I had heatstroke.” 

Morgan flashes a smile bright enough to rival JJ’s. “Yeah, we could tell. You were mumbling something about serial killers and oceans. It was either that or you were one of those loons that come around every now and then.” The brightly dressed lady giggled. 

“She tried to stab me when she woke up.” Spencer chimed in. “And called me a Nazi.” 

Morgan whistled, toying with his milkshake. “ _ Shiiit _ . You cannot make that up.” 

JJ rolls her eyes. “Ugh. Don’t mind them. They’re all dumbasses.” the other woman raised her arm in protest. “Yes, you are included. You are the dumbest ass. This,” JJ says, making sure to keep Emily’s attention, “is Penelope Garcia.” 

“You met Spencer Reid, and this is Derek Morgan. He does all the repairs and stuff in town. He’s also the one who towed your car in yesterday.” 

Emily mumbles a half-hearted thanks, despite really wanting to burn off those gigantic eyebrows. Teaches him to make fun of her incredibly embarrassing heatstroke. 

Nevertheless, she and JJ settle down into the empty seat across Penelope. 

“Emily here,” JJ says, eyes wide, “is the CEO of this business. Big boss lady.  _ Super _ scary,” she wiggles her eyebrows. 

Penelope whistles. “Damn. We don’t get a lot of city folk here.” 

“Yeah,” Emily parrots back. “I didn’t exactly come looking for this place. It kind of found me.” 

Spencer raises her brows across the table. “Hmm.” 

Morgan bumps her hand. “So tell us about yourself, princess. What’s your deal? How did you end up with heatstroke?” 

“Princess?!” Emily raises her eyebrows. “Listen,  _ eyebrows _ , do not make calling me that a habit.” 

Penelope snickers into her drink, and Morgan frowns, offended. “Eyebrows? What, you got something to say about these beauties?” He points a finger to the offenders in name. 

“Oh-  _ don’t _ I.” He has Emily all riled up now. She may put on a face in the name of professionalism, but he has beckoned the beast. And she must rise. “How do you have more eyebrow hair than you do on your head? That can’t be possible. And have you ever trimmed them, or have you been growing them out since you were born? Browpunzel.” The table goes silent for a second before everyone starts shaking. 

Spencer guffaws. “Crap. I forgive you for your murder attempt.  _ Browpunzel _ ! That’s gold.” 

Penelope nods along furiously. “Jayje, you have found a good stranger to let stay in your home. I’d trust her with my life.”

Morgan throws up his hands, looking offended. “What the hell guys! You’re taking the princess's side over me here? After all I have done for you here?” 

Penelope pets his arm placatingly. “Sorry, my chocolate thunder. You will always have a part of my heart.” her sympathetic smile turns teasing, “Even though it’s mostly taken up by those brows.” 

Emily laughs loudly. “Seriously, you’re going to need a pair of shearing scissors for those.” 

“Oh my god!” Penelope says between laughs. “Shearing scissors!” 

Morgan puts his head in his hands. “You can shame these beautiful beasts all you want. I know it’s because you’re jealous.” 

JJ laughs. “Okay guys, as much as I want to make fun of Derek, we should order. I am starving. Em, I bet you would love the strawberry milkshake!” 

Emily nods, ignoring the familiar twinge the nickname gives her in her chest. “Consider it ordered.”

They give their requests to a young man named Ethan who talks to Spencer for a while, and JJ excuses herself to go to the bathroom. 

Leaving Emily alone with the people she barely knows. One of which she held a knife to the throat of, and another she just spent 5 minutes making fun of with his friends. 

You could cut the tension exuding off her with a butter knife. 

Morgan seems to notice, however. “Hey, Princess. I was just yanking your chain with all that heatstroke stuff, you feel me? If it makes you feel any better, when I was younger I sleep-walked through town in my rubber duckie jammies.” 

“By younger, he means 2 years ago.” Spencer pipes up. 

“Pretty boy, you  _ better _ keep that damn mouth shut-” 

“You  _ better _ try and make me-” 

“Boys,” Penelope says sternly. “You better not start another one of these ridiculous fights filled with sexual tension with our guest sitting right here.” 

Spencer crosses his arms. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” 

“Sexual tension?- woman, you do not know what you’re getting into.” 

“So uh, Spencer? What do you do around here, other than the unofficial doctor?” Emily asks, hoping to find out the one person JJ didn’t mention. 

“Oh uh- well you know. Not much. People don’t get too sick here anyways-” 

Derek rolls his eyes. “Don’t listen to him. This kid,” he ruffles Spencer’s curly hair. “Is currently getting his 3rd Ph.D. He teaches the kids here and guest lectures, and consults,” he lowers his voice surreptitiously, “for the FBI and CIA.” 

Emily feels her mouth drop. “Seriously? Dude, that is crazy! You’re like. A baby? What are you, some kind of genius? How do you like it?”

Spencer frowns. “I’m 22, for your information. And I just consult and stuff, not anything too special. I study human behavior. And yeah,” he says, some bashfulness on his face. “I do really like it.” 

“You know, the FBI uses my security. That’s my business- Quantico Security. I have my name on signs in front of the academy and everything.” 

Spencer leans forward, interested. “Really? How is your business doing with the recent recession? Do you have any of your charts with you- I’ve recently got into economic trends, they are just so fascinating. I’ve been thinking about investing, though I have like  _ 2 _ dollars- how does your company handle stocks-” 

“Kid,” Derek cuts him off. “Maybe lay off it a little? Might be personal or something.” 

Emily smiles a little awkwardly. “No, it’s okay. Nice to see someone interested- but maybe we can discuss the intricacies of the stock market later?” 

Spencer nods, making it clear he will hold her to that statement. 

“So, um. What about you, Penelope?” 

“I work for a non-profit in the city. It’s a long morning commute, but it’s worth it,” she answers. 

“Really? What do you guys do?” 

Penelope smiles. “We save endangered animals and relocate them when their homes are destroyed. I mostly do coding and keep the website up, but we are small, so sometimes I get to tag along for the rescue missions.” 

Emily looks at her, awed. “That is amazing! It must be so fulfilling, oh my gosh.” 

“Yeah, it really is. I love it so much.” Penelope grins. 

Derek smiles warmly. “Babygirl here throws everything into her work. This beauty wakes up at 5 am to drive into the city and still has time to look so gorgeous,” he wiggles his eyebrows. 

Penelope giggles into her straw. “Well, my big black twelve pack,” she flutters her lashes. “It’s just for your gorgeous eyes.” 

“Aww, don’t you start-” he grabs her shoulders, pulling her in closer and pecking a small kiss to her temple. Spencer just looks on, bored. 

Emily consciously closes her mouth, choosing to ignore whatever weird 3-way these three were in.

She finally turns to Derek. “And you, eyebrows?” 

Derek huffs, letting go of Penelope’s shoulders. “Eyebrows,” he says warningly. “Probably built the room you are staying in right now. I built most of the houses here, and I do all the repairs as well.” 

“And he’s a huge landlord in the city! He is seriously loaded.” Spencer says, pointing a finger. “You guys will get along, all the high-society types.” 

“Kid, how many times do I have to tell you. Owning one shitty apartment complex has not made me loaded. I have like, 3 vacancies.” 

“Okay, but you will be! Statistics show that after the first individual complex, landlords are likely to-” 

“Yeah, yeah, kid. Keep yapping.” 

Spencer pouts, and Derek stares at him for a moment. Spencer pouts even harder, and Derek turns away. “Ugh, whatever,” he mutters and Spencer’s eyes shine. 

Penelope rolls her eyes. 

“So, you guys getting along?” JJ says, sliding into her seat next to Emily. “You didn’t rag on Derek too hard, did you?”

“Ugh, no. Didn’t have the chance, but I’ll be sure to keep it in mind for next time.” 

“Princess-” Derek says, warningly. Emily just flashes him a grin. 

JJ watches the interaction with narrowed eyes. 

Ethan soon arrives with her orders, and JJ digs into her fries and burger quickly. Emily sips her milkshake- JJ was right, it was divine- and watches her wolf down her food like a monster. How adorable. 

JJ glances up. “Ugh,” she groans. “Ethan forgot my drink! How does he even  _ have _ this job, he  _ always _ messes up our orders.” 

Spencer shrugs from his spot against the booth wall. “I think Gideon has a soft spot for him.” 

JJ looks at Emily’s shake real quick, before grabbing it and drinking from the same straw Emily had. She looks at her as if to ask,  _ ‘is this okay? _ ’ but the action has the exact opposite effect on Emily. JJ, looking up at her, leaning down to suck from the same straw Emily had her own lips on a few seconds ago, the too-bright lights of the diner making her pink lips glimmer around her straw. 

Not okay. 

Emily nods eagerly anyways. JJ lets go of the drink handing it back to her, going back to her meal as if nothing had happened. 

She looks at the straw for a moment, before tentatively places her own mouth on the same spot JJ’s had been. 

JJ glances up once more from her meal. She takes the extra straw Ethan had left on the table and sticks into Emily’s drink before she can protest. 

JJ’s hair tickles her face, and Emily can feel her hot breath on her face. JJ’s eyes meet her own, making time suspend itself in space. For a moment, there is just them, as close as they had been this morning, the same electric touch of before making its reappearance despite the fact they are technically not skin-to-skin. JJ’s eyes hold an element of longing in them as if there is something more she might want from this. But Emily is content with feeling like this forever- butterflies through her chest as JJ stays close and they share a drink. 

Innocent in a name, but more intimate than anything Emily had ever done before. 

The unmistakable sound of the drink finishing rips through the moment, and Emily unwillingly leans back. JJ stays, lips closed around the straw for a fraction longer, then turns back to her meal. 

“Hope you didn’t mind,” she says stuffily. “I was still thirsty. I’m okay now.” 

“Uh-huh,” Emily replies, still focused on the finished strawberry milkshake. “It’s- I okay.” 

Derek snorts. 

Shit. 

She forgot the other three were still here. Did they just see that? 

“I okay?” he repeats, grin painted ear-to-ear. 

Garcia puts her head in her colorfully painted hands, and Spencer pats her back reassuringly, while Derek continues to titter at her expense. 

Whatever. Worth it. 

\--

JJ’s garden is overgrown in a way that is both artistic and kind of messy. Bushes, wildflowers, and seedlings sprout up randomly, left to their own devices to grow however they may please. The wildflowers grow in several shades of any imaginable color, glittering tantalizingly under the sun. Just the view of her garden is enough to make Emily’s heart sing. 

To the right are carefully maintained rows of fruits and vegetables, each in various stages of growth. The rows have clear footprints through them, showing just how much JJ cares for her garden. 

Even past the even rows of crops is a small chicken coop, what looks to be a doghouse, and a small pen. 

“So, you asked earlier what I do?” JJ says. 

“I run a really successful stall at the farmers market a few miles. Our town is really small, but we and a few other communities generate a lot of foot traffic with the shops here. I farm for the town as well, and my three chickens and I supply Gideon pretty well.” She grinned, leading her into the coops.

“This,” she whisperings, motioning for Emily to stay as quiet as her. “Is Jordan.” The offender of this morning’s attack. Emily notes to not mess with this chicken. “This is Ashley, and here is Maeve. Spencer is actually really attached to her- I’m not sure why.” They step out of the coop, and JJ continues.

“You already met Henry and Will, so that just leaves Jack and Micheal. Jack is this little tabby cat that’s not really mine, but he somehow ends up here almost every night.” 

“Micheal is my little baby,” she coos, reaching down into a little pen to grab a little baby duck. Henry sneers at her from the other corner, and Emily narrows her eyes at him. Whore.

JJ drops a little kiss to the side of Micheal’s head and brings him closer to Emily. “He's an American Pekin, and we just got him like, 3 weeks ago. He’s just a little baby, aren’t you Micheal? Aren’t you?” she giggles into the duck’s head. Emily fights the urge to roll her eyes. 

She is not fond of birds. 

Nonetheless, Emily smiles at the duck placatingly, and JJ sets him gently back down into the pen. 

“We have a lot of fun here,” she says softly. “I think I’ve spent almost all my life here- I don’t know what I did, or who I was before I ended up in this town.” 

She takes a hold of Emily’s wrist, the warmth of her hand enveloping the cold seeping into it. “Let me show you how to plant a little, while we are out here. You have to pay for this room somehow, anyway!” She says brightly.

“Ugh. Just find a place I could use my card-” 

“Nope!” She replies, just as bright. She produces two packets from her pocket. “These are daffodils, they usually grow best in autumn but we’re not so far off.” 

Emily nods, taking a packet from her hand and sitting down beside her. “So JJ, I asked the gang about what they do, but I’ve lived with you for two days and still don’t know what you do. Or your life story, even.” She finishes with a slight smile. She can’t help it- she just wants to know everything about the blonde. 

JJ’s smile in answer doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She sighs heavily. “I think I came here when I was around 6,” she says quietly. “I’m not sure how I ended up here, but that’s the story you’ll get from a lot of us.” She looks up at Emily. Her hands form a small hole in the ground, patting the dirt around it flat. Emily follows suit. 

“I did a few jobs around, but Rossi took care of me as a child. I ended up working with the woman who used to own this place. She passed, and I inherited it when I was 11.” JJ sprinkles a few seeds into her hole, Emily copying. “Ever since then, I’ve lived here. Farmed, and did the work I needed to do, to keep it running.” JJ packs the dirt around her opening firmly. Emily frowns at her. 

“All alone? When you were 11?” 

JJ’s fervent packing pauses for a second. Just a second- but the hesitation is clear. “Yeah,” she responds. “It wasn’t bad- by then Derek had already moved in here, and this woman Blake- she actually owns the bookstore now- was here to help me out. This is my home,” she says as if that explains everything. 

Emily frowns, ultimately choosing to let the matter go for now. JJ had turned out fine; she didn’t think they were close enough. 

“I’m basically the supplier for this town’s fruits and vegetables, but the babies are just here for me,” JJ says fondly. “Make me feel less lonely.” she joked. 

Emily stood up, shaking the dirt from her hands and dusting off her pants. “You’ve always been alone here?” She lightly questioned. 

JJ grew terse. “Yes.” She said tightly. 

“Oh that’s gotta be a little lonely,” she continued. “What about your family-”

“Let’s just drop it for now?” JJ hands fidget along her stomach. “No offense- it’s none of your business.” 

Emily feels her jaw drop a little. “Oh- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean anything-”

JJ smiles, tight-lipped. “It’s fine. Why don’t we head back in?” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really struggled with this bad boy, im sure yall can tell. but not to worry, this is almost an exposition to the next chapter. sorry I missed yesterday lol, I ate shit soo bad on my board and passed out lmfao. how r yall doing?
> 
> my tumblr is @gothwyfe, follow me :)


	4. ghost town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ is quiet, and Emily is confused.

“Hey, JJ,” Emily calls out, wrapped up completely in her quilt. “Did you hear that?” Another scuffle echoed through the room, and Emily curled up a little tighter, arms tensing. Shit. “JJ? Are you okay?” 

The rain outside pounded against the window in Emily’s room, the pale moonlight of the outside barely illuminating Emily’s room. Emily once again tried to flick the bedside light on, to no avail- the storm must have taken out the power. Thunder clapped loudly, sounding closer than before. 

“JJ? I think the power is out.” Emily tried again. She felt petulant, calling out for her mom like a child, but she couldn’t help it. Strange noises that make the house go bump in the night? During a thunderstorm? Basically the plot of every horror movie ever. 

And Emily will not be  _ that _ first girl. 

She doesn’t even have anything to defend herself, as the good Doctor Reid thought it would be right to confiscate her knife. He should be glad she only opted for that little weapon; in her car was a nice, hefty Glock-19. 

Lightning flashed outside, the room glowing up for a fraction of a moment. Emily quickly catalogs the small nightside table, untouched, the chair across the bed, covered in clothes, and finally- 

“FUCK!” she screeches, leaping backward, hitting her elbow against the lamp which shakes and shatters all over the floor next to her. Emily quickly scrambles up to her basic defense position, ingrained in her mind. Shit- she’s never been in a real fight before. “Who are you!” She calls to the disembodied face. “Who the fuck are you! Stay away- I know Jiu-Jitsu!” she warns. 

“Emily,” the disembodied head hisses. “It’s JJ! What is wrong with you!” 

A small click- and then JJ’s face is lit up by a tiny flashlight. And uh oh- she does not look happy. 

“How is it that of the  _ 3 _ days you have stayed here,  _ 2 _ of them you’ve woken me up with your  _ ridiculous _ screaming?” she growls.

“Hey! These things are not my fault!” Emily protests. “Your crazy duck was in my face! And now shit is making noise- I swear your house is haunted or something-” 

“Wait.” JJ’s face fades from anger to concern. “You’re hearing things?” 

“Well, yeah- but  _ not _ in a crazy way! I swear it’s real-”

“No, I believe you,” JJ says grimly. “It must be the ghosts. Come with me.” 

\--

“So,” Emily grits through her teeth. “The ghosts?  _ The _ ? As in regulars?” 

JJ chooses not to respond, relegating her to continue lighting candles to replace the lights. They had huddled in the living room while the thunder clapped outside, sticking close together under sheets JJ seemingly pulled out of her ass. She also pulled out a few mirrors, placing them respectively at the doors and windows. 

Emily finished off the last of the candles, and sat down, covering her body with the sheets. JJ sat across from her, eyes unfocused as she watched the window for the lightning flashes. Her face lit up in the warm glow of the candles, and the small draft made the light swim across her face. She didn’t look afraid, but rather- resigned. 

Emily does not believe in ghosts. But JJ insists that they stay together tonight. 

Emily thinks quietly- if this had happened before, JJ would have been alone. Alone in the cold draft, along with the candles. Alone with the fear of ghosts and spirits. 

Maybe, Emily ponders, watching JJ shake her hair out, how her arms lifted above her head to stretch, exposing the skin under her shirt, how the imprint of her legs extended under the blankets. Maybe this is why JJ keeps so much crap just laying around. To feel like there is someone still there- despite the crushing loneliness of the house. Maybe that’s why JJ was so quick to allow Emily into her home, feeding and clothing her. 

She wonders who the blonde with a striking resemblance to JJ in the photos is. 

“Yeah,” JJ murmurs, not looking at her. “The ghosts. They have been around for a while.” She clears her throat. “I don’t know why. Or when. But these things,” she gestures to the mirrors and candles, “keep them away for a while.” 

Emily nods absently. She didn’t want JJ to feel any more uncomfortable or vulnerable and admitting that she thought this was a load of shit would surely do that. 

“Someone,” JJ says, voice wet. “Someone I cared about passed here. I think she visits sometimes.” 

Emily moves closer, placing a placating hand on JJ’s leg under the blankets. “Why do you want them to stay away?” 

JJ closes her eyes, breathing in deeply through her nose. “I don’t think we should talk about this right. W-wouldn’t want to freak you out.”  Her voice wavers, and under the soft light, she grimaces. 

Emily purses her lips and flashes back a half-smile. This deflection, this avoidance, she understands. 

“JJ,” her words stumble over her lips. “I’m here for you.”

JJ’s eyebrows collapse in her forehead, and she places a hand over her mouth. “She.. she always feels so much closer when it rains.” She blinks furiously, shaking her head, moving into Emily’s touch, and coming to her side. She laid her head on Emily’s shoulder, who in turn moved the hand on her leg to her head, rubbing in circles. 

While the rain pounds against the roof of the cabin, and the draft blows out the candles, they lay together like that. Holding one another, so when the mirrors and candles fail their bodies may be their final protection. 

\--

Town the next day is strange. 

The ground is still wet from the storm from last night, and it sloshes against Emily’s feet, clothed in JJ’s spare sandals. The woman in question has been silent since they woke up this morning, cuddling, talking only when necessary. 

They settle at Gideon’s, Emily sipping her strawberry milkshake forlornly, as JJ spaces out across from her. She closes her eyes, imagining the scene from the day before- blonde hair tickling her cheeks, deep blue eyes boring into her own, the feeling of hot breath ghosting her lips, and the impossible closeness of the two over an innocent strawberry milkshake, a moment suspended in time, engraved into Emily’s mind- and for what? 

Since when has Emily ever been so easy to please, and so ready to say yes to whatever this woman she had known for 4 days would ask of her? 

Since when had Emily ever felt a spark in her chest at the mere sound of her voice? 

“You guys mind if I take this seat?” 

Emily’s eyes snap open, cheeks coloring, embarrassed for those thoughts in her mind as if they had been read out loud. Yet another thing CEO Emily Prentiss does not do. 

Rossi smiled warmly at her, sitting next to JJ, who in turn continued to ignore the outside world. “The whole town has felt a little under the weather today.” He commented, clearly trying to console Emily’s own concerns for JJ. “It’s nice that you ladies decided to come out. It’s important to get out of your own head sometimes, you know?” The air seemed heavier. 

JJ cleared her throat, suddenly, hands slapping down on the table. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She announced, worming her way around Rossi. 

Emily sat awkwardly with the older man. She ends up in these situations entirely too often. 

“So, what’s got into her today?” Rossi says, tone joking but eyes serious.

Emily bit the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know.” She doesn’t want to expose JJ’s secrets. Seeing ghosts is not entirely… normal. 

Rossi seemed to pick up on Emily’s hesitation. “That’s okay.” Once again, they settled into an extremely uncomfortable silence. Emily contemplated taking her own little trip to the bathroom- they had not yet been acquainted and JJ’s icy mood would be better than this- 

“Is it the ghosts?” Rossi whispered. Emily’s eyes widened. 

“These kids have been around for a while. I know them.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “So… you see them? These ghosts.” 

Rossi sat back, crossing his arms and taking in a deep breath. “There a lot of things about this town that changes you, Emily. There is almost a certain magic once you settle here.” 

Emily inwardly scoffs. This is a load of steaming bullcrap. 

“It is not a load of shit. Haven’t you noticed? How  _ everyone _ understands each other on a level so intimate? How after 4 days here you feel different, and you are doing things that you wouldn’t? I do not pretend to understand things I don’t,” he adds seriously. “But after living here for almost 30 years, I know this town. It gives people something to hold onto. JJ sees ghosts. Maybe you should try and understand why.” 

He gives her a serious glance-over. “But be gentle. Because there will be hell to pay if you hurt her. And not just from me.” 

Emily lets out a nervous laugh. 

Is she currently getting the shovel talk? From this old man that believes in magic? “Um. I don’t know what you’re talking about really?” 

“Now...  _ that _ is a pile of shit.” 

\--

Breakfast at Gideon’s had ended quickly- a few interjections of speech from Rossi, and some exchanged pleasantries from Emily, but JJ had stayed dead silent, picking at her omelet. Her mind stays stuck on Rossi’s earlier words. ‘Maybe you should try and understand why.’ 

She wants to. 

Emily had already dug herself a deep hole to pull herself out of, living with a woman she was very much attracted to for at least 2 weeks, a woman who she had slowly been finding herself growing close to, wanting to learn more about her than the curve of her hips and how those plump lips would taste. 

She reflects; on the walk back to the cabin. About how she, Emily Prentiss, does not just do relationships. She is a self-proclaimed lone wolf, and yet there is something inexplicable about Jennifer Jareau that leaves her wanting to wake up in the morning next to her. 

It makes her  _ Extremely _ Uncomfortable. 

Emily sighed, lounging on the couch, all long legs, and outstretched arms. JJ sat, quiet as ever on the other side of the sofa, hands pressed against her cheeks, eyes so focused into the wall that Emily began to wonder if JJ was trying to wake her 6th sense and light it on fire. 

JJ looks really nice in the light of mid-day. The sun is bright after the storm, but the petrichor of last night’s storm dampens the mood. It seems to do the same in the sun’s rays. The light encapsulates her face- almost as if it molds her, gently highlighting her cheeks, dipping below her jaw, how it gently lays on her fair hair. 

“What?” 

Emily blinks. “Huh?” she replies, dumbly. 

JJ grimaces. “Why are you staring at me?” she bites. “Is there something wrong?” 

She blinks again, taking in just what she had been doing. Staring. At her maybe crush. Like a fucking sixth-grade school girl. 

She may as well start writing ‘Emily Jareau’ everywhere- maybe read the latest Cosmo magazine and see if ‘Your Boo Could Work With You!’ 

“Yeah, uh- just there,” she swipes at her own face, JJ mirroring her. “Yep. You got it.” It which doesn’t exist. 

JJ frowns at the thumb she used to swipe. “You sure? Nothing came off-” 

“Yeah. I’m sure.” She needs to start catching herself. This is clearly not going anywhere. 

JJ leans back on the couch, throwing her head back, exposing the long line of her neck. She rubs at her eyes viciously.

“So um,” Emily tries. “I was thinking maybe today we could-” 

“You know what?” JJ interjects. “ I’m going to head down to the garden.” 

“Oh,” Emily straightens up. “You mind if I tag along-” 

“Yeah, actually,” JJ says. She gives her a hard look, before softening a little. “I’m sorry I just- I need to be alone for a while.” 

“Oh.” Emily ignores the hard stab at her chest. “No, that’s uh, totally fine-”

JJ marches out, leaving behind the lingering light and the scent of warm vanilla. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! ik its not tuesday, but idc i felt like posting. i really like the next chapter a lot more, ngl gang. please remember to comment, it really encourages me! or even come hit me up on tumblr @gothwyfe !! I'm p active on there.


	5. homemade margaritas and chicken crap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ comes to a realization. Emily thinks she has a crush.

The cabin had been an unbearable sort o quiet in the past two days that JJ had taken to subtly ignoring Emily. 

It wasn’t much of JJ actively disregarding her- at least then Emily could brush this off as a simple Bitch Move. 

No, it was much more of a complex shift in the way she looked at her, in the way she exited the room when Emily entered, in how when they sat and ate together, conversation flowed like wet sand. Everything felt forced and it _hurt_. 

She had spent about 6 days with this mysterious, angelic, scary blonde woman. 6 days, in which she has had more fun than she had in the past 10 years. 6 days, in which she had paraded around a stupidly fuzzy warm feeling in her stomach. 6 days, in which she felt more nervous talking to JJ than she did presenting in front of the Board of Directors. 

She finds herself missing the JJ she had naively known for 4 days. The JJ that didn’t guard her every expression around her and had a food fight with a stranger in her stupid kitchen. 

The JJ whose smile brightened the stars in the sky. 

The JJ whose sunkissed skin glowed in the afternoon sun. 

The JJ who brought a half-dead stranger in from the main road, who allowed her into her home. 

The JJ who made Emily’s insides squirm and twisted her into a bumbling idiot, the JJ who Emily looked at like she was the light in-

Shit. 

She _may_ have a crush.

\---

The third day of JJ’s silence starts off normally. 

“I’m heading out to get some eggs- we can do sunny-side-ups today?” JJ calls, already halfway out the wooden door. 

Emily shoots her a thumbs up and continues to stare intensely at last week’s crossword Spencer had dropped off earlier. At least during the quiet in the cabin, she could count on Penelope, Spencer, and Derek to liven up the funk. 

_‘32 across’_ she thought to herself. _‘3 letters, similar to Thai.’_ Hmm. This is not really her game. Chewing on the cap of her borrowed pen, she scanned through the few languages she had picked a few words up in during her time in South Asia. _‘Min, San… Aha! Lao’_. She scribbles it down excitedly on the page, continuing on through the rows. 

Finally, Emily looks the page up and down, seeing all the gaps filled. “Did I really finish this already?” Murmuring to herself. Her eyes focus on _28 down_ , which spells S-A-O-I-H-G. 

Hm.

Emily sighs heavily. This puzzle is dumb anyway.

She sets the paper down on the table, picking up the coffee to sip, eyes focusing on the corner of the large bay windows opposite her. 

JJ’s little funk has been terrible for her- Emily feels like she shouldn’t be here at all. She’s an outsider already, and it’s clear JJ would prefer some alone time. She’s only here for another week at this point… and she doesn’t want it to end this way. 

Not to mention the raging crush in her ribcage had not faded. At all. At every quick glance JJ shoots her, she feels butterflies swirling around her stomach, and no amount of ‘Big Bad Boss’ scolding could stop those brats. 

Speaking of JJ- it had been a while, no? Her coffee downed and crossword… finished? Sure. 

Emily stands up, biting her lip. 

On one hand, JJ may be needing some help with something. On the other, she made it explicitly clear that Garden Time = Her _Alone_ Time. 

Emily hesitates, her left foot stepping forward- it couldn’t hurt to go out and check right? Yeah. It couldn’t possibly hurt. 

She makes her decision, closing the wooden door behind her gently, and tiptoeing through the overgrown brush, pushing aside thorns hesitantly- she stops dead in her boots. 

A blood-curdling scream rips through the air, and Emily can almost feel the glass on the door vibrate from the frequency. 

What in the fuck?

Emily grimaces, wondering for a split second about heading back in. Maybe she should just sit this one out- 

Another shriek makes her hair stand on end. Emily thinks better of her aforementioned plan, pulling back the heavy leaves and running through the path to the garden. 

“JJ?” She tries to match the volume of increasing yells. “Are you okay? What- What’s going on?” There is no response, save the clucking and whining of the chickens. The hell? 

She hears an uncharacteristically high squeal from the chicken coop, and JJ falls out with two vicious monsters (chickens) clawing at her. 

“Oh my god,” Emily can’t help her little chuckle. “Are you-”

“Emily!” JJ gasps. “Holy shi- _FUCK_ ! Get them- _crap-_ GET them off!” JJ pushes at the evil being that may very well be the ‘so-well behaved’ Ashley. 

Emily steps forward, plucking Ashley up off her and giving the bird and her face a wide berth. Ashley continues to wave around her wings indignantly, and Emily’s face scrunches up in an effort to keep her eyes from being clawed out. 

This fucking cabin is going to give her a phobia of birds.

“Hey!” She yells, pathetically. “You have to calm down. This is extremely unprofessional!” She uses her ‘I’m-the-big-bad-boss’ voice, which fails in the face of demon chicken. 

Beside her, JJ is having a little more luck with Jordan. She’s managed to sit up, and ignoring her entire right side covered in dirt, is effectively disciplining the little gremlin. 

“Bad chicken!” She scolds. “ _Why_ are you acting psycho? What did I do Jordan? Bad girl!” 

JJ looks up from the ground. “And you, Ashley. What is wrong with you?! Jordan pulls this all the time, but you? I expect better! Bad girl!” 

Both Ashley and Emily calm down, but both for very different reasons- JJ scolding ‘bad girl’ does something to Emily’s southern parts. But that is beside the point. 

JJ cautiously takes Jordan and Ashley in her arms and sets them back in the coops where Maeve is pretending to be asleep, oblivious to the commotion outside. They have the decency to look ashamed, at least, ruffled feathers and beady little sad eyes. 

Only then does Emily get a good look at JJ. She is covered in dirt and grass stains, and there is an egg splattered across her midsection. Hay is strewn through her hair with another unfortunate egg. Her pants are splattered with some white substance- 

“Oh my god,” Emily whispers. “Is that chicken doodoo?”

JJ’s mouth twists. “Yeah,” she replies, so defeated and done that Emily can’t stop the bubbling laughter, even as she slaps a hand over her mouth to try (and fail) to stifle it. 

“I’m sorry- it’s just-” 

JJ grins and cackles loudly. Emily snorts- “ _they literally shat on you_ ”- and soon JJ is on the ground, holding her egg-covered stomach and howling with laughter, the older woman beside her. 

“I can’t believe this is my life,” she gasps between snickers. 

Emily rolls over, snickering between breaths... “Those things are- are fuckin’ _demonic-_ ” 

“Try living with them, I mean- I feed them, I build them a damn house-”

“ _Shat_ right on you. No fucks.”

“On god _,_ I’m going _to put them down-_ ”

\--

They did not have chicken for dinner. Though Emily was very persuaded to do so, JJ has a habit of keeping toxicity around. Apparently. 

Emily shovels the last morsel of mashed potatoes into her mouth, standing up and bringing the plate over to the sink where JJ was trying to make a dent at the mountain of dirty dishes. 

The other woman groaned in frustration, and Emily thanked all the forces above that she’s never really had to do her own dishes. The blonde has mushy food particles all over her hands, and she is furiously scrubbing at a tupperware dish splattered with spaghetti sauce. 

“Need some help?” She offers, despite her obvious cringe at the wet food in the basin. “I can dry and put this crap away?” 

JJ gives her a gracious smile, nodding at the sopping plates on the counter. “Start there?” 

Emily gets caught up in the monotony of drying and stacking. It’s almost calming- being able to shove away all thoughts in respect of making sure these dishes don’t have even the slightest drop on them. She could get used to this, honestly. 

You couldn’t catch her ever touching wet food, but the rag she holds in her hand is scratchy and the cabinets are close enough that she can turn her brain off completely. 

But not so completely that she doesn’t notice JJ. She’s wearing large flannel pants, and a stained white tank, yet she still looks so unbelievably gorgeous. The guarded look that had sat on her face for the past three days is still there- but she looks content wiping slush from dirty plates. 

They finish quickly, the two of them working as a pair. The kitchen is just a little less suffocating without the mountain of dishes. 

Just a little. 

JJ leans her back against the counter, standing across from Emily putting away the last of the spoons. “Whew. That was a doozy.” 

Emily feels her face light up- and a stupid fuzzy feeling crawls into her stomach. Even after the evil chicken attack, she couldn’t tell if JJ and she were ‘cool’ again yet. “Yeah, but we got through it.” 

“Yeah,” she echoes. 

The last spoon clacks against a fork. It’s awkward.

“I just- uh. I just wanted to say, I’m sorry.” JJ rushes out. 

Emily spins around, catching sight of JJ’s gorgeous little face flushed a bright pink. Her hands are curled inward around her chest, communicating her unease. 

“Dude,” an easy smile flashes across her face. “It’s so cool. You have nothing to be sorry for.” 

“No, no I do. You’re my guest, and I was being super weird. Sometimes- sometimes I get in a stupid funk,” she sighs. JJ runs a shaky hand through her knotted blonde hair, eyes glancing off into the corner of the kitchen. “It’s dumb. I didn’t mean to scare you or anything.” 

Emily moves closer, laying a hand on JJ’s. “It’s okay. Uh, and your feelings aren’t dumb. You shouldn’t apologize for that.” She always had to learn that lesson the hard way. She hopes JJ gets it easily. 

JJ clasps her other hand around Emily’s, shaking it. They lock eyes, and once again Emily feels fluttery little butterflies spiraling in her stomach. 

Once again, they are too close, and she is lost in those baby blue eyes. 

JJ breaks the silence this time. “I need to get _fucked_ up.”

\--

“-and then this bitch tries to return the _eaten_ ,” JJ breaks off with a fat snort. “The _eaten_ strawberries!” 

Emily cackles, spilling a bit of the homemade margarita down her shirt. “OH my god. I am so happy I don’t do any of that customer service shit.” 

JJ wiggles her finger in her face, mouth pursed close together. “No, no, no. I know there has _gotta_ be some kinda little crazy big business dudes in your CEO life.” 

Emily flops down, squishing her face into the soft mattress on JJ’s bed. “Nooooo,” she wails. “Don’t make me think about them.” 

JJ giggles, in the bed next to her, trying (and spectacularly failing) to take a sip of her drink while laying down. “Ugh, no!” she groans. 

Emily lifts her face up, almost collapsing at the sight of JJ covered in her drink. “You’re- you’re,” she gasps, between laughs. “You’re so dumb!” 

JJ sits up. “Take that back!” she slurs. “That’s _mean_.”

Emily holds up the pathetic remnant of the drink, a toast to no one. She taps her finger against the glass, making a distinct ‘clink’ noise with her tongue. “To Jennifer Jareau, who is dumb. She’s a dum-dum.” 

JJ pulls herself forward on the bed, scrunching up the comforter as she gets closer to Emily. She grabs the other’s shoulders and shakes her gently. “No! Noooo.” 

Emily continues to laugh, laying gently down on the floor. “C’mere. C’mere.” she finds herself saying, hand pushing the scarves and books out of the way to create space for JJ. 

JJ stumbles down beside her, laying on her side to face Emily. 

Emily, who grins and turns onto her side, propping her head upon her elbow. “Jennifer Jareau,” the words tumble over her chapped lips. “You are _sooo_ pretty.” 

JJ giggles, her nose flushing like a cute little bunny. _‘A bunny,’_ Emily absentmindedly thinks. _‘That’s why she looks familiar.’_

“No, you.” 

“No, _you_.” 

“ _No,_ you!” 

Emily opens her mouth, but her neck suddenly feels weak and she falls forward. Her nose collides with the hardwood and she groans at the impact. JJ laughs at her. 

“Ugh. What are we talking about again?” 

“Nooooothing,” JJ drawls cheekily. Emily blinks her eyes open, discovering the soft fairy lights JJ has strung around her room to be _way_ too loud. She throws her arm over her eyes, scratching her nose. 

“God. Can we turn those down?” 

She hears a switch flick, and warmth filling her side again. Emily pulls her arm off her face, eyes adjusting to the newfound darkness of the room. It is calming, however- the light rushing of wind outside the window, JJ’s ever-present scent of vanilla filling her nose with her so close. 

Emily’s brain feels warm. Like she’s wrapped in a cloud, on a rainbow garden where nothing can go wrong. 

So she doesn’t exactly think about what comes out of her mouth when she opens it to ask, “Who’s the other blonde lady in your pictures, JJ?” 

She hears JJ’s sharp intake of breath, and Emily can physically feel the high of the alcohol wear off. 

This is not a rainbow garden, and many, _many_ things can go wrong. 

But JJ wraps her arm around Emily’s waist and buries her arm into her neck. “That’s my sister. Roslyn.” Her words are heavy- they weigh down the mood of stupid happiness that surrounded the evening. 

“What happened to her?” Her whisper comes. 

“Shh,” JJ says, eyelashes fluttering against Emily’s shoulder. “Go to sleep for tonight.” 

Emily hesitantly curls her arms around JJ’s slim waist, the sleek fabric of her nightgown sliding against her arms. She pulls her in after a moment of deliberation, almost like she could hide her from whatever was hurting so bad. 

She’d take Rossi’s advice tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyy bitches. ive decided that there is no longer an update schedule and i will simply update when wlw writer and poet sappho possesses me and reminds me of my urge to complete this story.  
> We still have a ways to go to the end, dw! I said it was a slow burn for a reason. Anyway, Emily, girl, get it together, holy crap.  
> I really like this chapter, but the next one holds some important plot. I wish u could do emojis on a computer smh idk how to write stuff without emojis in every sentence. Tell me what u think in the comments plz!!! contructive crit welcomed.  
> my tumblr @gothwyfe :)


	6. roslyn.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to confront a few truths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentions of suicide for this chapter

Emily wakes up to a blinding headache and a mouthful of blonde hair. 

Her nose scrunches up, and she carefully pulls the strands out of her hair, sitting up, groaning and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. _What_ goddamn time..? 

JJ stirs on her chest, and Emily immediately freezes. Shit. 

JJ is laying on her chest, hair not currently in Emily’s mouth surrounding her like a halo. Sunlight filters through the blinds, crisscrossing over JJ’s body. 

She looks so relaxed like this- her face somehow looks _more_ youthful. If that’s even possible. Her mouth is open- just the slightest, breath coming out in little puffs. Her face is slightly pink _\- adorable_ \- and her chest rises and falls slowly. 

Emily lets her upper body roll back down with a stutter, praying to gods she doesn’t believe in that she doesn’t wake JJ. 

Apparently they don’t hear her multitudes of prayers- blonde eyelashes flutter and flap open slowly. 

“Em?” Comes a soft whisper. Emily clenches her hand, cursing her deceptively strong upper body. It was probably her hot abs rolling under her weight that woke JJ. 

“Yeah?” She whispers back, the slight pounding in her head warning her to steer clear of sound any louder than that. 

JJ moves her hand off Emily’s chest, leaving her feeling _empty_ , and rubs her eyes. “God,” she groans. “What? Um, what’s going on?” 

“Shhh,” she points to her head. “We totally got, like. Wasted .” 

JJ’s knuckles come down, revealing her baby blue eyes rimmed with purple and red. “Got that much. _Fuuck_ ,” she moans, pushing her hair to the other side of her neck, leaning back down onto the older woman’s stomach. 

Emily feels her face heat up dramatically. It’s truly comical- if this were a cartoon or tv series, her face would turn beet red and steam would boil up from the top of her head. She might even get a nosebleed. 

JJ reaches her hand up, still face down in the fabric of the gargantuan t-shirt Emily borrowed from a laundry pile last night. Her hand- ever the one to work wonders, soft yet callused, clipped and prim yet unruly- pats her on the cheek.

“Let’s go back to sleep, yeah?” she mumbles against Emily’s stomach. 

If possible, Emily’s face burns even hotter. She swallows, bracing her head against the hardwood floor and wrapping her hands around her face. 

It is _not_ a good idea for CEO Emily Prentiss to have a crush. She has responsibilities, a livelihood, a business to get running again. Worse than that, she has _serious_ commitment issues...

She should get up, walk away. She should ask Derek Morgan and his big car to drive her to the city and run away in a cab she pays extra for. She should forget about Sparrow Falls, about the overgrown charm of the garden, the demonic chickens. 

She should forget about Jennifer Jareau, forget about soft blonde hair and baby blue eyes. Of hands that not only touch but feel, of vanilla and lavender, of food fights in her late twenties. Forget about a person that she cares about after a week of knowing, forget about a person who welcomed her into her life without hesitation. 

Of someone who cares for her. 

She’s never had anyone like that before. 

Emily unsticks her hands from her face, and places it down on JJ’s hip, scooching her up closer. She turns onto her side so that her other arm can come up back around JJ, effectively wrapping them in a hug. 

“Yeah,” she mumbles. “Let’s go back to sleep.” 

\--

It’s three in the afternoon when they get back up- Will waking them up with a loud, needy bark, that little shit- and JJ had headed out to take him for a walk. 

Emily stands beside the entrance wall, holding a steaming cup of coffee to nurse her headache between her hands. 

The woman that looks like JJ- Roslyn, is a lot of pictures with her. They are always smiling, JJ looking significantly younger than her. _‘JJ was a cute kid_ ,’ she thinks, a stupid smile rising on her face. 

Roslyn is pretty, rosy cheeks like JJ and a soft face- yet sporting hard, determined eyes. The only difference is hers are a warm brown. Emily scans over the pictures, eyes stopping on one where JJ must have been no older than 7- maybe 8. 

She sits on a bright purple bike, hands wrapped tight around the bars. Roslyn stands next to her, arms wrapped around the seat, holding her protectively. JJ looks to be having the time of her life- her face painted with an animated grin. Will is there too, just a little puppy then, sitting in the grass happily. 

Emily squints at the picture, noticing a small boy in a red shirt crying in the corner. Is that-

“Yup,” comes a snarky drawl. “That is little Derek Morgan.” JJ enters, slipping her shoes off. Will bounds up to her, nose pointing all up in her business. 

Emily curls her nose, lightly stepping away and shooing him playfully with her arm. “This is why I’m not a dog girl- all up in my hooha-” 

JJ cackles, and Will runs off to the back garden. 

_‘She still looks so good,’_ Emily reflects, pausing to take in the sight in front of her. JJ’s got her hair pulled up today, in a tight ponytail on the crown of her head. She’s opted for some leggings and a t-shirt with a big spaghetti stain on the hem- must have been Rossi- and her skin is pale with the exertion of last night. 

“That’s one my favorite pictures of her,” JJ says, gesturing at the photo Emily had been focused on earlier. “She looked so happy there.” 

Emily nodded, returning her gaze back to the picture. 

“Looked?” She says, after a moment. 

JJ’s face falls, just the _slightest,_ and her cerulean eyes droop with emotion. “Yeah.. she um- Roslyn passed a while back.” 

Emily feels her eyebrows raise, her mouth dropping. “Oh my god- I’m so sorry, I didn’t know-”

“It’s fine,” JJ chuckles, shallow and wet. “It was almost- _god_ , 15 years back.” 

Emily steps closer, so she can feel the heat emanating off JJ. “She was gorgeous. She looks just like you.” She says softly. 

JJ smiles, “ _I_ looked like _her_. Roslyn was my older sister.” She breezes past Emily, sitting down on the couch and patting the seat next to her. “You asked yesterday,” she explains. “And I feel like I owe you an explanation after the past few days.” 

“No, no,” Emily holds her hands up, shaking her head reassuringly, “JJ, you don’t owe me anything-” 

“Well then, I’d like to tell you.” JJ smiles at her, full of hope and wistfulness, her eyes fluttering. 

“Roslyn took me to this town when I was really young- maybe like 5, or 6. What I said before is true,” and Emily’s mind flashes back to a day that felt like yesterday, two women planting flowers, “I don’t remember how we ended up here, or why we were running- although she once told me our parents were never really great. I was too young.” 

JJ stares down at the coffee table, hand reaching out to trace one of the rings left by a coffee mug. “We should get to cleaning this table…” she muses. 

Emily ignores the silly little twinge she feels at JJ’s utterance of ‘we’, opting to lean back, the scratchy fabric itching her neck, and nod. “Whatever you shall ask.” 

JJ smiles, gentle and soft, and sits back, resting her blond head against the hard frame of the sofa. “We lived at Rossi’s for a while- all of us have, at one point. He always says ‘those who are lost find a home here,” JJ cuts off with a chuckle, eyes widening in mockery of him. ”He lets kids stay with no pay, but Roslyn got really lucky and found a job right here in town. We worked for this lady in this cabin and stayed here.” 

“She passed when I was 8. Maybe 9. Her name was Erin,” JJ says, glancing out the huge windows, gaze held together by mere threads. 

Emily wants nothing more than to gather her into her arms. 

“She left us the cabin- she didn’t have any family or anything and had grown fond of us- and we kept it. Roslyn and I learned how to properly farm, keep stock, and make money here. We were really good at it too- eventually, Gideon started to come up to us for fresh produce. I was eleven when…” and JJ trails off, gaze at last breaking. 

Her eyes rim red, tears welling at her waterline. She slouches back further on the ratty couch, holding her arm to her stomach. “I never expected anything. Never expected it to end so early- but I feel so dumb thinking back on it-” 

“JJ,” Emily interrupts. “There is not a chance in icy hell that any of this could be your fault.” 

JJ smiles at her wetly. “I know, I know. But I always think- I don’t know. She had taken to telling people she loved them, all the time. Leaving me presents,” her hands move up to touch at her golden locket, “making us special food, and she had stopped snapping so often- I don’t know.” 

JJ’s tears refuse to fall, but she hugs her arm closer to her stomach. “I found her,” she whispers, gaze haunted. “She slit her wrists- in the bathtub.” 

God. 

“I spent so many years, just wondering, thinking about anything else that I could have done, to help her. It took me so many years to move past it- and everyone helped me as a kid but there were days when I would still sit and wonder if just- if just maybe she had been right-” JJ rambles, face blotchy with unshed tears. 

Emily reaches out to place a steadying hand on her knee. “JJ,” she says softly. 

JJ looks down at her hand, eyes moving up to meet her after a moment. “Thank you,” she whispers. 

“You don’t need to thank me.” 

\--

Emily’s hands clench around the sides of the beech-wood counter, blinking heavily against the blinding light.

She glares at her pale reflection in the mirror, following the movements of her face. She winces as a particular glint hits her _right_ in the cornea. 

“Emily,” she begins. “You are going to make too much of a mess here,” her fingers curl up on the counter. 

\--

_“Emily,” she had begun the same day, “You are finally going to fix this mess here.”_

_She stood in the mirror, in her favorite power suit, fixing the last touches of her prim makeup. “This is your day.” Emily murmured, leaning forward to dab on a bit more mascara. “This is your day to fix all this.”_

_She stood back, giving her reflection a small smile._

_Ugh no. Try again._

_She switched to a bigger smile, patting down her hair carefully. “This is it.”_

_Emily marches out of the bathroom, schooling her features into the best ‘she-is-all-business’ look she has. She stops at her seat, along with 10 other men who had always promised her she’d fail._

_Well, they were wrong. The second it came to her turn to present- she’d have this down. Lock and key._

_Ian smiled at her as she took her seat, patting her hand reassuringly. Emily grinned back at him. They both know she’s got this._

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so IK the end may be confusing a little but stay on board with me! I have a plan that will be revealed. Not soon though mwahahaha. The italics are the past, though, if that’s any clarification. I like to play with tenses as you may be able to tell if you read my other stuff haha.  
> In other news, I have been feeling a little down on this story haha. Do you guys even like it haha??? Please continue to review, and im so down for constructive criticism and everything. Ily all  
> Tumblr @gothwyfe


	7. big talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little mystery- and some serious trust issues.

The morning dew slides across Emily’s skin- damp, tall grass stopping her- to lean down and take a quick breather. 

JJ and the gang are a few strides ahead of her, the blonde’s voice piercing through the sunshine blinding Emily. 

“Jack! Jack!” comes a multitude of voices.

JJ had pulled Emily out of bed early that morning-  _ much _ too early for Emily to pull herself together enough to be happy about damp shorts and mud in her borrowed flip flops- insisting on her coming to help look for Jack the tabby cat, who hadn’t stopped by the house in almost a week. 

It’s not like Emily would even say no- despite a newfound resolution to distance herself from the blonde woman, she was utterly and completely  _ whipped _ . 

JJ turns back, concern written clearly on her face as she cups her mouth and yells up to the sky. “Jack! Jack!” 

Spencer frowns sympathetically, wrapping an arm around her and patting her shoulder. The action is simple- just a close friend comforting another- but Emily can’t stop the stab of jealousy coursing through her veins. 

She jogs back up to the rest of the group, stopping next to Penelope- who is dressed in a cute little yellow sundress, scrunched at the arms, and tied off under the breast. Two very large glass peaches hang off her ears, glinting almost as brightly as the bedazzled gold sunglasses resting on top of her fluffy hair. 

JJ turns to address the group, Spencer’s stupid hand still resting on her arm. “I’m going to head into town and call again,” she says frantically. She starts a brisk walk back in the direction of town, waving her hand behind her, “Maybe a few of you could stay back and wait here- Jack likes this spot usually-”

Penelope’s hand shoots out, her deceptively strong fingers wrapping around Emily’s forearm. “CEO mama and I are staying back,” she calls. 

Emily’s eyebrows dip, mouth curling up. “CEO mama?” she questions as Penelope steers her away from the group. 

Damn. She walks really fast, despite the six-inch heels in the mud the same consistency as quick-sand. 

Emily keeps up the pace, however, rocks flying beneath her feet. “Uh-” she struggles, breath catching, “Are we- are we going some-  _ woah,”  _ Emily narrowly misses a large hole. “Going somewhere?” she finally finishes. 

Penelope stops suddenly, leaving Emily to run right into her soft back. “Shhh,” she motions, crouching and pointing towards a large bush. 

Emily leans down next to her, following her hand, gaze landing on a cute orange cat- a tabby cat?- aww how  _ little- _

Emily feels her brain come stuttering to a stop. “Is that… a tabby?” She says slowly. 

Penelope nods lightly. 

“... _ The _ tabby cat?” 

Her fluffy hair bounces as she nods once more. 

Emily crushes her urge to push Penelope. “Are you kidding?” she hisses. “He’s been here the whole time? JJ is  _ so _ scared- we gotta go tell her,” Emily stands up, immediately pulled back down to her feet. 

Penelope raises her eyebrows, eyes widening. She motions for Emily to sit beside her. 

Emily feels her soul roll its eyes. God, what is this? 

Nonetheless, she takes a seat on a tree root beside her. 

“Do you know why Jack is hiding here?” Penelope asks, voice sickeningly-sweet, floating past Emily’s ear, making her hair stand on end. 

“...no?” Emily hesitates for the barest second, biting the inside of her cheek. “Don’t you think that-” 

“Jack is here,” Penelope’s strong voice cuts clean through her train of thought. “Because this is one of the most secluded places in town.

“You would think that living in a small town means you can get around easily, have good places to-” she pauses, glancing at Emily over the rims of her glittering glasses. “ _ Hide things _ .”

It takes all of Emily’s power not to laugh. 

Penelope is currently threatening her- insinuating no one would find her dead body. 

But she is a little difficult to take seriously- the bright yellow dress that sticks out like a sore thumb, the glittery six-inch pumps, the glasses bedazzled in the fashion of a one Ms. Paris Hilton. 

Penelope picks up a small leaf to toy with, immaculate and manicured nails piercing through the skin. “But everyone gets in everyone’s business here. I have known JJ for almost,” she pauses quickly, counting on her fingers. 

“16 years.” 

Emily’s eyes widen considerably.

Not so funny anymore. 

She lets out a low whistle. “ _ Impressive _ . But I’m not really sure-”

“Ah ah ah,” Penelope grins, waving her finger in front of her face irritatingly. “I’m not done!

“See, Emily,” her tone dips- sweet turning bitter in a matter of seconds. “JJ and I are sisters. Truly been through thick and thin. Along with Spencer and Derek.”

Penelope’s head drops, moving ever so slightly closer to Emily. “So if anything were to happen to her,” she murmured. “It would not only be me after you.” 

Emily blinks, completely dumbfounded. 

Is she…  _ getting the shovel talk? _

Right now? 

Almost as if she were in a haze, Emily lets out the laugh building in her gut. 

Penelope’s fake sympathy turns sour. “Is something funny?” She growls. Its effect is a little lost on Emily- what with her bright pink peach earrings swinging in the breeze and the fluffy white shoes. 

“No, no,” she stifles her giggle. “I just- I think you are seeing something here that’s not really going to happen.” 

Penelope’s gaze- if even possible- hardens more. “Listen,  _ Prentiss _ . JJ cares about you a lot, like  _ so _ much, okay? And if you’re going to be an asshole about it that’s up to you and your stupid smirk- but JJ has done so much for you that I think if you’re going to be so insufferable then you should just do it to her face because she really likes you-” 

“What?” 

Penelope’s anger fades from her face- leaving her face ashen save the bright pink decorating her cheeks and nose. “Oh no,” she whispers. 

“Did she,” Emily continues hesitantly. “She told you that? About me?” 

The leaf wiggling its way through the brightly-colored woman flutters to the ground, and her fingers come together around her mouth. “Oh no. No, no, no.” 

“Penelope,” Emily presses. “Did she say that about me?”

Penelope ducks her head to the side, but it does nothing to hide the flaming red crawling it's way up her neck. “Okay, you know what?” she grits out. “She did, and if you’re going to use that against- which you can’t because it would be utterly rude and terrible and so  _ mean _ -” 

“Penelope,” Emily smiles. 

Despite her new resolve to distance herself from JJ-  _ ‘before you ruin anything else,’ _ her brain unhelpfully offers- the idea that JJ told someone else that she  _ likes _ Emily makes her insides twist- not unlike a middle school girl at her first school dance. 

Emily Prentiss doesn’t  _ do _ feelings. It’s not her big CEO thing- you know? She leaves them aside- because it’s unfamiliar, it means something- a commitment, a purpose, a root. Things that she honestly just  _ doesn’t _ fuck with. 

But this feeling, the slight way her stomach rolls and her skin lights on fire is sweet. It’s familiar and exciting, and  _ god _ it scares her. 

But she can’t say she hates it. 

“I’m not going to use it against JJ. I think,” she swallows, breath catching. “I think I really like her too.” 

Penelope’s pink face shoots up, eyes boring into her soul. It’s like she’s searching, searching for the admittance that this is fake- which hurts Emily more than she’d like to admit. 

She’s never wanted to be fake. She just always has to. 

“You really like her back,” painted pink lips ground out. “You mean that?” 

“Yeah,” Emily coughs. 

Penelope’s face splits just as quickly as she walks. “Oh,  _ honey _ ,” she says softly. “What is with the two of you then? You have been living together for a week and playing this little game of cat and mouse,” she pauses. 

“You know. I think I’ve been a little hard on you so far. I  _ swear _ I’m the nicest- do you want to talk about something?” she finishes. 

Emily  _ desperately _ does. 

“No, no,” she breathes. “It’s really fine- just, shouldn’t we get Jack to JJ? Before she gets an aneurysm?” She gets up again, but is stopped by a soft hand on her arm, 

“Emily,” Penelope says, eyes so warm and genuine, “It’s okay, you know?” 

And something about it- something about how nice Garcia is, about how familiar everything feels while simultaneously so strange, about how her mother used to say that when she was too young and cried at piano lessons- just makes the dam break. 

She plops back down, sniffling pathetically. “Is it?”

“Aw, honey,” Penelope engulfs her in a giant hug. Her dress is really nice material- soft and flowy. 

“I just- I’ve never felt like this before and never so quick,” she grovels. “And I don’t want to stop feeling like this- but I can’t, you know?” 

“Well, why can’t you?” Penelope’s hand starts a rhythmic pat against her back. 

“I’m not like that, I don’t do that-”

“Sugar,” Penelope says, hand now resting on the back of her head. 

It would be humiliating if it wasn’t so comforting. 

“Your feelings are valid- no matter what happened before, babe.” 

“You don’t know what happened!” Emily counters. She pulls back from the hug, face still wet. 

“So tell me.” 

\--

_ Ian stands up before she does- that should have been the tip-off for Emily. She should have seen it coming.  _

_ She reprimands herself every night for it anyways. Nevermind it now.  _

_ She looks up at him from her seat, rightfully confused.  _

_ See they have this thing- when one of them looks at the other, it's always returned. A small flash of the teeth, a little thumbs up. _

_ In business, you always have to hide your emotions. Especially as a woman- and Ian gets that. So the quick reassurance is what makes their partnership work.  _

_ But Ian catches her eye.  _

_ And he doesn’t hit her back.  _

_ She pours over that moment countless times. Restless, sleepless nights where she wonders what went wrong- what changed and what ruined her life.  _

_ He addresses the board- never once looking at her. The words-  _ **_her_ ** _ words- fall out of his mouth naturally.  _

_ And of course, they do. Because he’s the one who sat with her while she worked up the plan. He’s the one who proofread it and told her it would work. He’s the one who she gave it unlimited access to, at all times and godwhatafuckingidiot is all she can think at night.  _

_ So he takes the plan. And he takes 70% of the company profit- her company profit.  _

\--

“And then. Well, then he took me for everything I’m fucking worth.” 

Emily can see Penelope pursing her lips through the corner of her eye. 

“I managed to get the company back- when his dumbass ran it into the ground. Now I have a failing company on my hands because I trusted my friend.” 

She feels fucking pathetic- still torn up about her best friend betraying her from over 5 years ago- crying about her life to some stranger. Her mother would never stand for this- she can almost hear her berating voice in the back of her mind. 

Penelope rests a gentle hand on her knee, sympathy so strong it makes Emily’s eyes water. “Emily,” she says. “You know that’s not your fault right? You know that he’s a stupid  _ bitch _ .” 

Emily laughs wetly. “Thanks, Penelope.” 

Logically, she knows it’s not her fault. No one else would expect their best friend of almost 20 years to suddenly switch up and turn on them- just for personal gain. To take  _ her _ company, what  _ she _ worked for. 

Logically she knows he didn’t succeed. 

But logic will never get her mother’s voice to stop pounding through her head on a particularly bad night. Making every remark and comment about how she  _ ‘wasn’t enough’ _ again. How she almost lost the legacy of generations for a  _ friend _ . 

“You should go for her,” Penelope says suddenly, tone turning to tease. 

Emily’s eyebrows turn down. “Huh?” 

“JJ,” she says, pushing her shoulder playfully. “ _ Fuck _ that guy. JJ is here, and she totally likes you.” Penelope wiggles her eyebrows. “In ways more than one. I vaguely remember her talking about how she’s sure you keep it tight-”

“God!” Emily cuts her off, smiling aching at her cheeks. “ _ Nasty _ , god.” 

Penelope giggles, hands coming up to her face. “I’m serious, Em.” 

Her tears catch at the sound of the nickname- it's nice. 

Emily wipes at her wet face with the arm of her shirt- after all, it is unbecoming of a young woman to be crying. She needs to pull it together. 

“I have no idea how that betrayal would feel but JJ really likes you. And you already live together- what’s a little more?” Penelope continues. 

Emily rolls her eyes. “We’ll see.” 

She lets Penelope pull her to her feet, wiping dirt off her hands on her pants. “Which way is town again? We should-” 

“Here!” Penelope thrusts an armful of hair into her hands. “You can hold Jack!” 

Jack mewls quietly in her arms, settling quickly into her chest. 

Emily doesn’t do feelings and all that- but it’s nice to have the familiar weight in her hands. Sergio- ever the fucking brat of a cat- was a constant in her life and despite it all, she misses him. The scratch of cat fur against her arms and the warmth of another warm body- while not being JJ- is enough to make her heart sing. 

Jack feels like… home. 

Sparrow Falls feels like home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup bitches. I struggled with this chapter and its a short one but I just needed to get a few things in order heheh. next chapter is what inspired this fic hehehe. I may be feeding you heathens sooner than expected next bc im so excited to write it.  
> tumblr @gothwyfe


	8. astrological conclusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected event occurs at a messy dinner party. 
> 
> Well, maybe a few..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> implied sexy times towards the end ohoho

Family dinners were a rare thing in Emily’s home growing up.

Her father fucked off to _god_ knows where when she was barely 4- not even old enough to remember that son of a bitch. Her mother- in _true_ CEO fashion- absorbed herself in work, leaving little Emily alone.

It’s not that she minded, anyways- she had always convinced herself that she prefers to be alone. 

Besides, it’s not like her mother was very enjoyable company. If she wanted to be berated for her excessive eyeliner or liberty spikes, she’d just nod her head in the direction of her all-girls Catholic school. 

So dinner was usually had with the Au Pair, or the butler if she was _truly_ lonely enough.

Bertram was great company, and a wonderful chess player. She had some very enlightening conversations about household manners with him. 

So this so-called ‘town’ dinner is a little off-putting to her. 

She knows it’s small, hell, barely on a map, but you really expect her to believe some 200 people meet every other week to have dinner together? I mean- is there even somewhere to house them all? 

\--

In hindsight, it was a mistake to have doubt in JJ. 

They walk into Gideon’s, ignoring the big ‘CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT’ sign, and the crowd erupts when JJ walks in. 

It’s no surprise- JJ looks amazing. Dressed in a black tank and some jeans- it should be casual. She has her hair pulled back and two glinting silver hoops. But somehow, she manages to show up the rest of the party. Certainly looking better than Emily in her white dress top and black jeans. 

Emily grimaces- it’s all too familiar of another sad corporate party- and pushes through the crowd to find a spot by Garcia. 

“Emily!” Garcia yells, drink sloshing, spilling over the thin edge of the glass in her hand. She grabs her hand, holding it above their heads to the crowd of on-lookers. “Guys, guys,” her words slur together- despite it only being 7. “ _This_ . Is Emily. She is my favorite brunette girl- yeah, _fuck_ you Linda, and she is so nice and cool and-” 

“Okay,” JJ says, laughing amicably. “Why don’t we go sit down for a second, okay Pen?” She mouths a quiet apology at Linda- clearly affronted- guiding them both to an empty booth away from the throng. 

JJ’s hand is on her back and- _woah_. That’s a little low? 

She feels the flutter of fingers move down and- yeah. That’s definitely low. 

Emily sneaks a glance past her shoulder at Penelope- and JJ’s hand rests respectfully on her upper back, nearing the nape of her neck. 

Oh. 

_Oh_. 

Emily schools her features instantly, trying to bite back any excitement. Ignoring the fact that her stomach flip-flops, butterflies turning to dandelions and threatening to come choking out her throat in a rapid laugh. 

But JJ catches on, and at her next sneaky glance over, her blonde eyebrows are set satisfied and smug. 

But this isn’t going to go that way.

Not the way JJ seems to expect it to. 

Emily cracks her neck, swallowing the urge to go run into a corner and hide. She dips her head, leaning close to JJ’s ear. 

“I really hope you don’t expect this night to go the way _you_ want it to, darling.” She rolls the words out carefully, hoping- _praying_ they are received well. 

But the sight of the raging flush on JJ’s cheeks are answer enough. This time Emily can’t stop to smirk from sliding across her face. 

Derek and Spencer await them at the table- The former grinning, and the latter smiling benevolently. 

“Oh, my chocolate Adonis!” Penelope cries, flinging her arms around Derek. “I love you, and your strong bald head- you know that, right?” 

Derek laughs, hand coming up to pat Penelope on the arm. “I gotchu, princess.” 

Penelope blinks, grounding herself against his admittedly strong bald head. “And you-” she begins, reaching towards Spencer (who immediately pulls back). “You are the most gorgeous little guy _ever,_ I just wanna-” She grabs his cheeks in her hands, squishing his little face. 

JJ had somehow managed to sneak her arm around Emily’s waist, moving closer and closer until her hot breath hissed against her neck. 

“Were you saying something before?” Her innocent whisper comes. 

Emily would be a lying piece of shit if she didn’t say it did something to her, _cough_ , southern organs. 

JJ’s arm tightens around her waist, and she’s suddenly so close her eyelashes flutter against Emily’s cheek. “And I think that I am going to get exactly what I wanted tonight.” Her words are barely louder than Emily’s own tight breathing- but it’s so loud her heart pounds. 

_Oh_. 

Emily’s heart quickens, threatening to come ripping out her chest. She should calm down, she should _calm down-_ is this not what she’s been wanting for the past week and a half? 

She’s not one to leave a woman… _unsatisfied_. 

Emily lowers her voice to something they used to call her ‘sexy drawl’ back in college. Which should honestly be every indicator that she should have left it there. “Well, if you’re so confident-” 

Her words are cut off by Garcia stumbling backwards in their loose embrace. 

“Jayje, where- what are we doing,” Penelope blinks rapidly. “Oh no. Oh no- I think I’m going to-” She retches, and JJ tenses up, rubbing her back- but moving away a respectable distance. 

“Oh my god, Pen” she wrinkles her nose, grinning at Emily “We’re going to be-” Her baby blue eyes make a quick look up and down her- “right back. Let’s go to the bathroom- no, just hold it for a second- I got you-” They retreat, the crowd clearing for them. 

Emily clears her throat, and sits down. She’s unbothered.

She is!

Really, her insides are a rambling mess of _“OHMYGODDIDNTHSTHATHAPPENEDJUSTNOW? NOW?”-_ but it’s fine. 

Derek wrings his hands together, glancing back through the crowd, concerned. “She looked pretty bad- do you think she’s okay?” He says to Spencer- who merely purses his lips, and shrugs. 

“She had three Sangrias- for a woman of her size and weight it’s more than enough to most likely have one uhhh,” her glances at Emily quickly. “Fucked up. A little.” 

Emily lets out a good-natured chuckle. “Sangrias? For dinner?” 

Spencer blinks owlishly. “I don’t understand. Yes?” 

Emily smiles, a bit confused. “Well- they’re serving steak and it’s like, 8 pm,” 

Spencer nods. “Yes. It is, and they are.” 

Emily nods, absolutely confused. “Yeah.” 

Derek wrings his hands together, face clenched in worry. “I’m going to go check on her,” he says after a beat. 

Spencer immediately frowns. “I’m sure she’s fine, she has JJ-” but Derek’s already long gone, pushing through the crowd which so easily parted for Penelope. 

Leaving the two of them alone. 

God, does she ends up in these situations entirely too often. What’s that- almost _four_ times she’s been left uncomfortably with someone she _barely_ knows. 

Emily grabs a small glass of Cabernet from a tray on the table besides them, and nods at Reid.

“So,” she says, words foreign on her tongue. “How’s, uh, work?” 

Reid smiles under his glass of smells-like-apple-juice. “It’s good.” He replies, genial. “For you?” 

Emily raises her eyebrows, forcing _yet_ another tight-lipped, frog-like smile. “Oh, I can’t work from here. Bad service.” 

Reid’s mouth falls open in a small “ _oh_ ” and he takes another drag of his apple juice. 

Emily nods again. 

The two of them had never really gotten on as well as she did with Derek and Penelope. It’s not that she didn’t like him, he’s fine and all- but it’s just a little more effort. The both of them aren’t exactly welcoming and all smiles and hugs like the others- so she didn’t expect it to be easy. But _god_ , this is just fucking painful. 

She picks at her steak, fork dragging lines into the tough meat. She takes a bite- acknowledging the rich taste. 

“Wow, this is good, huh?” Give her some credit here. She’s trying- really. 

Reid nods again. “I don’t eat steak,” he says. 

Emily nods again, eyebrows raising, trying desperately to look interested.

“Emily!” David Rossi- or should she say, her knight in shining _fucking_ armor- comes up to the table, settling down beside Reid. “Spencer!” He pats him on the shoulder- which is honestly a funny sight with how Spencer jerks with each pat. 

“What are you two doing here alone?” Rossi raises his heavy silver eyebrows. 

“Oh, uh-” Emily says, her hand moving up immediately to cover her mouth. “Pen, Derek and JJ are in the bathroom. Reid and I are just enjoying the dinner,” She says through a full mouth. 

“ _Ah_ ,” Rossi nods in understanding. “I see.” 

He claps his hands on the table. “Are you two enjoying the dinner?” 

Reid nods, picking at his salad. “Not a big fan of steak, but this is good.” 

Rossi laughs loudly, booming. “Why don’t you just try a bite- I didn’t even go all Italian for tonight. I heard there’s some Russian inspiration in that dressing,” he jerks his head in the direction of Reid’s salad. 

“Really?” Emily leans forward, a smile quirking on her lips. “Russian? You know- I lived in Russia for a few years-” 

Reid’s head immediately snaps up- a quick contrast from the standstill tone of the conversation about ten minutes ago. “ _You know Russian_?”

Emily grins, eyes lighting up. Does she know Russian? You might as well ask her if her hair is black. “ _Your accent needs a little work, Oomnyashka._ ” 

Rossi laughs, his face reading a happy ‘mission accomplished’ look, holding his hands up in defeat. “I only speak Italian, so I have the feeling I’m no longer welcome here- but you enjoy your dinners.” 

Reid nods absentmindedly. “See you, Rossi.” 

He laughs delightedly, waving Rossi off. “ _I’ve never met someone I can speak Russian with before,_ ” his entire face is joyous- it’s honestly refreshing. She’s never seen him like this, despite having known him for just a week. 

Derek was onto something with all those nicknames, honestly. 

Emily laughs back. “ _I’d be lying if I said I haven’t- but ever since I moved back to the states it’s been a while. I may be rusty._ ” 

Spencer shakes his head. “ _No, not rusty at all! I’ve only been learning for a year- do you think you could give me some pointers on old russian and my pronunciation?”_

Emily gapes. “ _A year?! It took me two- even with all the tutors. I think you should focus more on your inflection- use your voice to convey emotion more- and roll those ‘r’s,_ ” she responds. 

Spencer tilts his head. “ _Only if you remember those hard ‘h’s!_ ” Emily laughs. 

“ _Oh my god,”_ he starts again, eyes growing impossibly wider. “ _Did you see Solaris?_ ”

Emily throws her head back, groaning. “ _Did I? More like who hasn’t?_ ” 

Spencer cackles. “ _God, right? It’s simply-_ ”

“ _-a masterful creation!_ ” Emily finishes. 

They laugh together, sound blending into the chatter behind them. 

“You guys have been getting along,” JJ says, pulling a cheerful Derek and a miserable Penelope behind her. 

“God, it is _so_ loud already,” Penelope whines, sidling next to Spencer and leaning her head heavily against the wood table. 

Spencer frowns. “Statistically, it wouldn’t even make sense for you to be hungover already-” 

Penelope pushes a bright orange fingernail against his lips, head still down. “Shhhhhh,” she whispers.

Derek rubs her arm sympathetically- however, mirth is still evident in his eyes, “Maybe next dinner we lay off on the drinks for a bit,” he teases. 

Penelope picks up her head, looking (maybe more like squinting…) into Derek’s eyes. “You know that’s not going to happen,” she whispers. 

Derek shrugs. “Worth a shot.” 

“So,” JJ interrupts, “What were my two _best friends_ ,” she shoulder-checks Emily, winking, “getting up to?” 

Spencer leans forward, excitement barely containable in his slender shoulders. “Emily knows Russian!” 

JJ’s eyebrows raise. “You’re kidding,” she says, looking over at Emily. 

“ _Not at all,”_ Emily replies, smirking. 

“And,” Spencer continues, oblivious to the tension floating in the air. “She knows Solaris- and she enjoyed it, you _freaks-_ and lived in Russia! I’ve been getting a few pointers on my pronunciation.” he finishes proudly- which leads to a swell in Emily’s chest. 

JJ groans. “Not the long-ass _nerd_ movie,” she laughs. 

“Spencer made us watch it last movie night,” Derek cuts in. He waves his hand at his neck in a ‘cut it out’ motion, lip quirking downwards. 

“Alright, alright,” Emily raises her arms. “You are not giving this piece of art the credit it deserves.” 

“Right!” 

“I fell asleep,” JJ deadpans. 

Penelope groans, head hidden under her arms on the table. “I wish we just watched _The Princess Bride_ again.” 

JJ frowns. “You mean that movie with the guy that looks suspiciously like Gideon?” 

Emily makes a face. “God, now that you mention it…”

“I’m telling you,” Derek waves his finger around. “There is a history with that man that we do _not_ wanna get to know.” 

Spencer rolls his eyes. “He’s really not that bad guys- he was so helpful when I was getting my criminology degree.” 

Derek splays his hands out, eyebrows scrunching a comical amount. “Exactly! A man who owns a diner in Sparrow Falls- and he somehow, by some god-given chance, knows practically everything there is to serial killers?” 

“That’s because I am one.” A deep voice comes from behind Derek, who jumps almost six feet in the air. It would be a funny sight if not for a somewhat terrifying grandpa standing behind him. 

“God!” Derek gasps, chest heaving. “You scared fuck-all outta me, man.” 

Spencer and JJ smile cordially. “Hey, Gideon.” 

Penelope simply groans from underneath a sweater. 

The grandpa- Gideon, smiles at them, wringing his hands together. “How was the food today, gang?” 

Emily gives a hearty thumbs up. 

Gideon glares- yes, _glares-_ at her in return. “Not that steak,” he bites out. “I didn’t make that. The salad?” He says, gesturing at Spencer’s plate. 

Spencer nods, eyes wandering off into the crowd. “Oh well, it was pretty good. I really liked the-” 

“Okay,” the anger disappears from his face as quickly as it appeared. “We need someone to play, Spencer,” His face almost elongates with the way his eyes widen subtly at Spencer. 

Spencer sighs heavily, eyes rolling almost angrily- surely a _first_. “Are you serious? I thought you booked Ethan?” 

“You know him,” Gideon answers, “Always running off to get into some trouble,” his voice dips a little lower, “like last year when you two-” He mashes his hands together in an obscene fashion. 

“God!” Spencer jumps up, face flaming red. “Oh my god, okay, I got it- let me just-” he stomps out of the booth, pushing past a pale looking Penelope and almost stepping on Derek’s feet. 

Emily turns to JJ, jaw dropped open. “Holy shit,” she giggles. “Did he just-” 

JJ guffaws into her drink- which isn’t doing much to cover the red painted all over her face. “Yeah-” 

“What did I tell you!” Derek says, leaning forward. “Mans is a fucking _psycho_.” 

Emily frowns. “And was it just me or does that guy hate me. And also- are we just going to brush over the fact that he said he’s a serial killer?” 

JJ pats her arm in sympathy. “He’s like that to all new people, don’t take it personally.” 

Emily nods- only pretending to understand. “So we _are_ going to brush past the whole serial killer thing?” 

JJ snickers into her drink, leaning on Emily’s arm heavily. 

She thinks she underestimated this town dinner thing. 

Yeah it’s loud- and yeah, someone ends up rubbing against her leg splayed out of the booth every five minutes, but somehow, despite the sweaty face and the hot air she is having more fun now than she did at _any_ corporate dinner.

It definitely beats those depressing dinners as an emo sixteen year old with Bertram. 

And where else would she be able to see a serial killer grandpa imply an incredibly inaccurate night of steamy gay sex with his fingers? 

Besides- she doesn’t know if JJ would be resting her head against her shoulder if she hadn’t come out tonight, and she probably would have never felt her breath against the shell of her ear, like _ever_. 

Which is simply an unacceptable way to die. 

“Alright folks!” Gideon’s voice booms, the crowd groaning at the squeal of the speakers. “Oh- Oh I’m sorry, haha.

“So, as you know,” he continues, definitely not sorry for the squeal of the speakers- as he just speaks louder over it. “Ethan was supposed to be playing tonight- but it seems like he’s run out to go do something else-” 

“But Spencer’s right there!” A voice calls out, the crowd snickering (Derek very much included in said snickering crowd). 

“Shut the FUCK up, Anderson!” Spencer yells, standing up from behind the piano. Oh shit. 

“Okay, settle down- hey, settle down!” Gideon raises his hand to stop Spencer from trying god knows what with those noodle arms. 

Spencer moves two fingers back-and-forth at Anderson. _‘I’m watching you’_ he mouths. 

_‘Bring it on,’_ the man named Anderson responds. 

Nothing this entertaining has ever happened during dinner with Bertram. 

“So, uh, Spencer’s going to play instead, okay?” Gideon steps out, microphone crackling unpleasantly. “Sorry! Sorry.” 

A light beat picks up- _damn_ , they got this little kid on drums- and a bouncy piano tune dances through the air. 

Emily’s eyes widen, and she whistles. The tune is catchy- but she’s classically trained and she knows a difficult piece when she hears one. Spencer picks up a rhythm with repeated triplets on his left hand-

“Oh my god,” she says to JJ in awe. “He’s good!” 

JJ’s eyes shine with something like unspoken pride. “Yeah,” she breathes. “He picked it up a while ago- he’s really good.” 

“Yeah,” Emily starts. “I think I recognize this one- is this a waltz?” 

JJ quirks an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t know- I don’t really listen to classical all that much-”

“Hey guys!” Derek cuts in, yelling over the crowd. “I’m going to take Penny home- those sangrias were something else tonight…” he trails off as Penelope gags. 

He wraps an arm around her- and she waves them a little lighthearted goodbye and mouths ‘ _get some_ ’ very unsubtly at Emily. 

“So..” JJ looks uncharacteristically nervous, and the purple lights stand out against her blue eyes. 

They actually make them look really nice- it blends together to make an endless pool of blues and purples. Like a galaxy. 

“It’s just us two now.” She says, biting her lip. 

Emily feels a grin slide across her face. She raises an eyebrow, bending down and holding out her hand. “M’lady,” she says, a fake deep tone overtaking her voice. “Would you care for a dance?” 

She hears JJ giggle, and she glances up to see all nervousness wiped off her face in place of a shit-eating grin. She’s gorgeous.. 

“Well,” JJ sighs, “I do not usually dance with,” she looks down with disdain. “peasant men such as yourself. But I suppose I shall do so this once.” 

Emily swipes up, scooping JJ’s waist in one smooth motion. 

There’s her game.

“Peasant men?” she whispers against JJ’s neck.

They are the only two people on the dubbed ‘dance floor’- which is really just the area by the bathrooms closed off by a few stray chairs. 

But it’s fitting, in some strange fashion. 

Emily feels like no matter what- JJ and she would be the only two people in the world. Like the moon and the earth, like the sun and it’s planets- like a bee and a flower. It’s hard to imagine a time where it wasn’t the two of them. 

Emily thinks back to yesterday, too afraid of her own past and their future to let JJ close. 

But now, even with debilitating panic seizing her every move- it’s difficult to see herself happy without this. 

Because JJ is the moon to her earth, the sun to her planets, the bee to her flower. 

JJ laughs, head tucked against Emily’s chest while they sway. “Was this the dance you propositioned me for?” 

Emily hums, tucking her head on top of JJ’s. “Well, I was going to bust out the old MC Hammer routine, but I don’t think you could keep up.” 

She feels JJ snort against her shoulder. 

JJ’s hand fits perfectly in her own, the calluses somehow fitting right against the soft curves of her own palm. 

Emily splays her hand out, pressing it against JJ’s spine, pulling her closer so they are breast-to-breast. 

They continue to sway- no one joins them on the dance floor. 

“This is nice,” JJ whispers. 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

Emily thinks Spencer has switched songs- because right now, JJ is looking up at her, and she is looking down at JJ, and her heart is beating faster and faster and _faster-_ room spinning as JJ closes the distance. 

There is no added electricity when their lips meet. It’s a soft exclamation, a light gasp into her mouth. 

She was right about JJ having soft lips. Emily leans down just as JJ presses up- their noses squishing together and she braces against the back of the blonde head. Like kissing your middle school boyfriend behind the bleachers- sweet and chaste. 

Emily pulls away, JJ’s eyes meeting hers as they part. 

The tension is palpable- and just like that morning ages ago in the kitchen, JJ’s eyelashes flutter and Emily’s breath shortens.

And suddenly she feels like she is seventeen again- her mind reeling and her entire being on fire. JJ slams mouth-first into her, arms grabbing at her back. She pushes her hands up into JJ’s hair frantically, teeth gritting together.

It’s like they can’t be close enough- breathing together, moving together. The stupid little sway is all but forgotten, and JJ pushes back so much that Emily’s back meets the tile of the wall. JJ’s hot mouth all but encapsulates her, her hands grasping the side of her face.

Emily groans into JJ’s mouth, hands coming up to clasp around her biceps frantically. JJ pushes into the embrace, almost collapsing in Emily’s arms, hands splaying out at the wall behind her. Emily’s hands work their way down to JJ’s ass- which is really, _really_ nice, by the way- groping at the thin black fabric covering it. 

She wants to say anything. Something along the lines of- “you kiss like the angel I thought you were,” or maybe even a simple- “you have an amazing butt” would suffice. 

Instead all she can grit out is a simple “ _off_.” 

JJ pulls back, stunned.

Emily gasps for breath- but is not afforded even a second to regret her choice of words before JJ is manhandling her into the single stall in the open men’s bathroom. 

JJ looks a wreck in the yellow lighting of the bathroom- the red lipstick she wore out tonight is smeared across her face, and her hair looks like a haystack, the ponytail having been somehow looped through itself. A stray bit of hair pokes through her hoop earring. 

It’s wondrous. 

She breathes heavily, eyes flickering down to Emily’s white top. She bites her lip, looking back up. 

“In the words of the wise Emily Prentiss,” she rasps, “Off-”

“Shut up.” Emily’s hands wrap around the nape of her neck easily, pulling her in for another long, blistering kiss against the dirty tile wall. 

JJ moans, pushing up the white shirt and ripping at Emily’s bra desperately. Emily steps back for a second, allowing JJ to rip the top right off her. 

It’s honestly _cute_ how enthralled JJ is at the sight of her boobs- her eyes widen and she grins like a twelve year old boy who’s just seen his first nipple. 

Emily instead, leans closer, pressing her mouth against JJ’s neck, close enough to feel her own hair move at the other’s breathy gasp. 

She twists her hands in the soft material of her black shirt, pushing up past her shoulders. JJ leans her head back so it slides right up, just getting caught on her jaw for a second. 

Emily busies herself in JJ’s abs- which- _hoo_ , boy she was not expecting. She felt hard skin when they fell asleep next to each other- but that six pack is _glorious_. She could spend all day running her lips over it. 

“How does that feel?” She says, flicking her tongue against the tan skin and moving up for a second. Emily hooks her hands around the loops of JJ’s blue jeans, tugging downwards as her nose rubs up against the cloth cup of her bra. 

JJ grabs Emily’s scalp, pulling on her hair- rough, but Emily doesn’t have to restraint to hold back a gasp- just as she reaches her destination. She pulls down the soft faux lace, grabbing JJ’s hips hard enough to bruise- pressing her tongue through her lips dragging counter-clockwise-

They both jump at the ‘BANG’ that resonates through the bathroom, Emily tumbling onto her back, wincing at the incredibly cold and disgustingly wet floor. 

“Hey!” A gruff voice yells, scraping unpleasantly at her ears. “Can you hurry up? I been out here for the past 10 minutes!” 

JJ clears her throat, a terribly fake deep voice replying. “Uh, just a minute- just a minute.” She pauses. “Man.” she adds, like an afterthought. 

Emily presses her lips together, unable to stop an undignified snort. 

JJ’s covers her bright red face with her hands, scrambling to wrestle her jeans back up at the same time as her shirt. “Stop it!” she hisses. “We’re going to have to walk out together and the whole _damn_ town is gonna know-” 

Emily lays a reassuring hand against her thigh. “Hey,” she says softly. 

“We don’t have to leave already,” she continues, tone turning sultry. She raises her eyebrows, biting the side of her lip. “You said to wait a minute, after all.” 

JJ chuckles, smoothing her shirt down in the dirty mirror. “Mhm, yeah. Like you could make me _finish_ in a minute.” 

Emily cackles evilly, throwing her own dress top on. “Don’t underestimate the power of the Prentiss,” she jokes. “Besides,” she leans down against JJ’s ear. “I might have to show you that power later. We heading back?” 

JJ narrows her eyes, glancing at Emily out of the corner of her eye. 

“Well,” she starts- but is rudely interrupted again by another smack on the wall. Emily scrunches her nose- she wanted to hear what JJ was about to say. It looked good, judging by the way the hickey she left on her neck flushed with the rest of it. 

“God! What are you _doing_ ! Cleaning up a crime scene? Holy _shit_ , man.”

JJ raises her eyebrows at the man’s loud beration through the door. “You can head out first....” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall. i love this chapter so much- its a long bad boi as well. ive found my fire for this story again with this chapter- as u can see by my updated chapter total. its all smooth sailing... for now. not for long. if i was on mobile id use my evil face  
> on a serious note i wanna thank yall for all the love :) im so fucking soft. thx gang  
> also my laptop sitch has got worse. on my dads laptop ahah dont have the chance to redownload grammarly so.. we gonna work with what we got :/


	9. dreamland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily comes to a realization- take two; JJ plans a picnic.

The glowing sun shines bright through the open window, dust floating, and glittering in the air surrounded by the ray. Morning dew drops lightly down blades of grass, like teardrops on the earth. Birds tweet loudly outside, flapping past, rustling tree leaves. 

Emily groans, shifting her head from her left cheek to right, pulling JJ’s soft covers up to scrunch around her bare body. 

It’s early. 

She flops onto her other side, head slipping off the pillow onto the bed- praying to get back to sleep before she really had to awake for the new day. 

Acknowledging that last night was over… well, it stung a little more than Emily could ever expect it to. 

Emily swings her other arm around, contorting her body into a ‘T’ shape, grabbing at the hard mattress.

She blinks heavily, lifting her head the barest amount to squint at the empty spot next to her. 

Empty.

“JJ?” She calls out softly. She pulls herself up to her haunches, leaning up. “JJ?”

“You called?” A voice lilts from the doorway.

Emily flings her head around fast enough to cause whiplash, blinking spare sleep out of her eyes. 

JJ stands in the doorway wearing the same little lilac nightgown she had all those nights ago, an oven mitt in one hand and a spatula in the other. Her blond hair (brushed free of tangles from earlier extracurriculars) spills over her tan shoulders, still a little wet- evidence of a shower. 

She beams at Emily, pearly white teeth glinting. “You’re finally up!” 

“Finally?” Emily groans, rubbing at her face. “What time is- it’s _ 5 am _ ?” 

“Yeah!” JJ says playfully, oven-mitt clad hand coming to rest on her hip. “Come on, I have plans for us today! Get dressed.” 

“Plans?” Emily grumbles, feet reaching the cold floor. She hisses at the initiation. 

“Surprise.” JJ stage-whispers, face lit with a bright smile. “I can’t tell. Get ready soon!” 

Emily yawns, stretching her long limbs, wincing at the cracks that erupt. “Surprise?” She moans. “That’s not really my thing-” 

“Too bad,” JJ says, hand slapping the side of the doorway excitedly as she turns around to leave. “Be ready in 20!” 

\--

JJ refuses to tell her where they are going. 

Her eyes dance at Emily’s protest, grabbing her hand and positively skipping down the path littered with dandelions and scratchy grass. 

She wears the same white dress she wore when they met- the white cloth bouncing along with her hair as they continue through the weeds. The sun has just risen, painting brushstrokes of pink and purple across the sky- and a light breeze picks up, brushing past her neck refreshingly. The scent of syrup and crushed berries waft into her nose. 

The scene is angelic- painted like something out of a movie, light blues and pinks like that of a renaissance portrait- so much so that Emily can’t stop her own smile from spreading across her face contagiously. 

She commandeers hold of the basket about half of the way through, promising not to take a peek inside at JJ’s insistence. 

“Spence and I found this spot when we were just kids,” JJ hums, eyes bright. “You’re going to love it.” 

Emily raises her eyebrows. “I’m sure it’s great,” she murmurs, poking her neck around JJ- trying to catch glimpse of whatever it is her figure obscures. 

JJ stands up straighter, pressing a finger against her lips as she moves a large mass of moss and vines with the back of her arm. 

And the sight- well, it’s simply to die for. 

A waterfall gushes, leading into a steady stream of clear water babbling through the opening and past. The ground drops off- steep and rocky from where they stand, covered in moss and flowers. The sun shows itself out of the canopy of trees- and despite the overall still dark of the sky, everything seems to glint in the small spots of light. Smoky steam rises steadily from the water, diffusing through the air and just tickling their faces. 

Tall, thick trees cover the spot, arching over the waterfall artfully, branches hanging down low, just barely brushing the top of the flowing water. Rocks scatter the stream at the bottom of the flow, making a stepping stone path. A dirt island sits in the middle of said stream, edges high above the water, proofing it. 

Emily’s mouth drops in awe. 

“Oh my god,” she whispers, turning to face JJ- who smiles so wide her face may split in two. “This is… JJ this is insane. It’s gorgeous.” 

“ _ Right _ ?” Her teeth flash. “I love this spot so much- not many other people in town know it exists,” 

Emily stares back out across the scene, swallowing a lump. This is JJ’s spot- this is her spot that she trusted Emily enough to bring her to. To share with her. 

Her chest begins to beat painfully, raging against her rib cage. 

JJ cocks her head down. “Watch your step,” she warns, holding her arms out to steady Emily. “It’s steep.” 

Dirt and rocks fall with every tentative step Emily takes, and JJ holds her shoulders tight. They finally reach the bottom of the slide, and JJ skips across the rocks to set out a black and white gingham blanket in the middle of the mossy island. 

Emily stares from across the stream, heart aflame, water slowly lapping against her toes just reaching the clear water. 

_ ‘She does everything with so much care,’  _ She notes, watching JJ’s hair flounce as she bends to smooth out the corners of the blanket.

Emily looks down at her reflection in the clear water, watching her face morph with the ripples of the water.

She’s never been soft. Just like her face- she was born hard, born  _ angry _ . 

_ ‘Born to win’ _ is what her mother would say, throwing out posters and locking her in her room. Dumping out bottles of eyeliner and slamming doors. 

She doesn’t think she’s ever been in love. She barely thinks she’s ever  _ really  _ loved, ever loved anyone. Ian was a mistake, her mother was unrequited- she’s never felt like this. 

JJ is different. JJ is soft, sweet. Strong and smart. 

A rock plops down right in her face- the image of her shattering right before her and water splashing up into her face. 

“Hey!” JJ calls joyfully. “You coming?” She beckons, hand waving. 

Emily grimaces, wiping water out of her eyebrows, making her way over to the island. 

“Hey.” She says softly. 

“Hey,” JJ replies, wiggling her eyebrows. They hold eye contact for a second longer- before JJ looks down, opening the basket. 

“You can look now,” she breathes, and Emily swallows, craning her neck to glance inside the basket. 

She furrows her eyebrows. “Is that-” she ventures, but JJ cuts her off.

“ _ A charcoochie board! _ ” 

Emily’s hand flies up to stifle the guffaw that cuts through her throat. 

Failure. 

“What?” JJ asks innocently. “What?!” 

“JJ,” Emily cackles, “How could you think anyone would name their food after coochie?” 

“What?” she protests. “I would do that, in like a heartbeat-” her mouth starts to spread. 

“Charcuterie,” Emily gasps, “It’s called  _ Charcuterie _ ,”

JJ rolls her eyes, a slight smile ghosting her lips. “Whatever. It’s not even that funny!” 

Emily bites her lip. “Yeah, sure.” 

JJ busts out a glass, a bottle of Mimosa clinking as she pours out the orange liquid. “I made that last night,” she explains, eyes glittering. “I also made sandwiches and some lemonade.” She passes the glass to Emily. 

Emily ignores the painful swell in her chest, smiling as she accepts the drink with a nod. “This is  _ amazing _ , JJ,” she swallows, blinking away the lingering sour pulp. “You woke up just to do this?” 

JJ blushes, head ducking slightly. “Yeah. I thought it would be fun to try out- I’ve never taken anyone here on like, a date.”

Emily sighs, placing her hands behind her head and laying down in an effort to quell the paramount fluttering in her stomach- bordering on painful. 

JJ takes a sip of her drink, looking up at the birds fluttering above the crisscrossed canopy covering the alcove. “I love living here,” she begins softly. “It’s everything I could dream of- but sometimes small-town life is just… suffocating.” 

Emily nods. “I can get that. The city is freeing, in a way- so  _ many  _ people are there that it’s like no one is looking at you.” 

JJ flips onto her side, hair flinging over her shoulder to brush the blanket they lay on. “Do you like it there?” she asks, eyebrows furrowing the slightest. “I mean- have you lived there forever?” 

Emily scrunches her nose, thinking about all the places she’s ever been. “You know- I’ve lived all over the world, but it’s always been the city for me. I’ve never lived anywhere else.” 

“Until now,” JJ adds. 

“Yeah,” Emily lets a hand fall to her breast, grabbing at the red fabric. “Until now,” she echoes. 

JJ wiggles her body, moving ever closer to Emily. “People always say living in a quiet place is living slowly- but I’ve always thought my life has moved so fast, always.” her eyes fall, “like I’m watching myself in a movie.” 

Emily twists her neck to look at JJ. “Really?” She inquires, “You’re always so… in control.” 

JJ chuckles, turning off her elbow to lay flat on her back. “Never,” she breathes. “I’ve always felt like I was just, in the background.” 

“You’re not like that, though. You know what to do, and you just do it. Take life by the neck.” JJ snatches her fist around the air, face scrunching in satisfaction. 

Emily swallows another sip of the drink, ignoring the growing dryness of her mouth. “I’m not really like that. I’m afraid like,” she chuckles. “A lot.” 

JJ turns back to look at her, eyes soft and wide. She smiles, “I guess we’re more similar than you’d have thought.” 

Emily’s eyebrows jump, a small laugh bubbling out of her mouth. “No, you’re so much better than me.” 

JJ’s breath catches beside her ear. Her dress rustles as she pulls herself up, pulling the gingham behind her. “Better?” she says, face unreadable. 

“Yeah- you can control yourself. You know when to step back.” 

JJ’s eyes turn inquisitive, positing a question at the similar cerulean sky as she frowns. “Control myself… ” she mutters, almost to herself. 

Emily pushes herself onto the backs of her elbows, hand coming up to block the spots of the sun through the leaves. “JJ, I just wanted to say again how sweet this picnic is-” 

“I can’t always control myself,” she bursts, steely cerulean eyes meeting dark, ash brown. 

JJ leans forward, engulfing Emily’s mouth with her own as her hands come up to press their faces closer. She tilts her head to the side, allowing Emily more access when her hand falls from her face, going immediately to brace herself on the other’s hip. 

Emily lowers her head, hands looping around JJ’s neck loosely. Her eyes flutter, and in the brief glimpses, she can catch sight of JJ’s own eyelids flushed pink. 

She’s always so gorgeous. 

Emily pulls away, gasping for air. JJ keeps eye contact, wiping her mouth with the back of her mouth. 

JJ moves closer, and Emily’s heart threatens to beat out of her chest. The ba-bum, ba-bum rips against her ears, sending blood rushing to her face. 

_ ‘What is your problem?’ _ She scolds inwardly. It’s not like she had a problem going down on her last night. It’s not like this has ever been a problem since- _ It’s not like her heart had hurt like this since- _

The sheer intimacy of it, the closeness of the date threatens to rip her apart. The way JJ only seems so carefree with her, so ready to let go and throw it all away- the way Emily would do the same without a thought. 

The two of them could set it all ablaze, it could be the two of them against the world- 

And Emily realizes she could never do it. 

“I think I love you.” JJ whispers, breath ghosting over her lips. 

She was a fool to stay here- to allow herself to be so comfortable. She could never do this.

“I can’t do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ouch.   
> tumblr @gothwyfe


	10. other side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ has lived the fastest life; she has a story to tell.

When one lives in Sparrow Falls, one learns that life is ritualistically uneventful. 

She loves her little town- she loves drinks at Gideons with Derek, reading with Spencer, dancing with Penelope. She loves how life is calm and sweet- save for a few chicken wrestling matches. She loves how… pleasant it is. 

But life like that is a life that passes one by. 

And it’s  _ just  _ her. 

Derek owns properties in the cities- his fix-up work and carpentry are known all over the county- hell, even the state. 

Penelope loves her job, how she can save animals, and the helpless with the click of her button. How her coding and need to save others can come together to be one.

And Spencer? The certified baby of the group- that does elusive and (somewhat, Garcia can always get her hands on it one way or another) secretive work for the damn CIA? 

Sometimes she wonders if that was all she was meant for- tend to her garden, watch her animals, make shitty jams and embroider. 

She always had bigger dreams- of upper management, of high-rise buildings and cityscapes, of  _ luxury-  _ but they need her here. 

So she tries to make her life,  _ herself _ , even, more interesting. She starts martial arts at Matt’s dojo, she learns how to use a bow and arrow, she even learns (well, tries, as Derek loves to put it) how to mix drinks at a  _ very  _ strange and alcoholic brunch party. 

But she can never shake the- for lack of better term-  _ boredom _ . She spends hours-  _ days _ , looking out windows, tending to fruits that grow on their own, taking Will out for his seventh walk of the day- and she feels like she’s already eighty. 

It’s almost like there is nothing else for her. 

\--

Emily Prentiss drops into her life like a meteor- a gorgeous, older, tall, raven-haired, delicious, meteor with bombshell tits. 

JJ offers her a place to stay- mainly out of pity (because this woman is clearly out of her place), but also with the strangest inkling that maybe, just  _ maybe _ , they could get along. It’s not like she has anything else to do. 

She accepts. 

\--

Her heart beats faster when Emily touches her. 

When her pale, soft hands touch her sun-wrinkled, tan skin, flutter just under her freckled cheeks, in the dim yellow lighting and blinding sun of her kitchen, she feels electricity course through her veins. 

JJ slips a strong arm around Emily’s waist, pulling her ever so closer, runny pancake mix rolling down the side of her face. 

It’s strange- she’s been a few dates, a few hookups-  _ nothing  _ has ever felt so incredibly right as standing ever so closely to the older woman. 

Time seems to slow in the moments between the fated food fight and the moment Emily sets her down, lips close enough to brush. It strings together like the jam she makes- wobbling it’s way down, sticky and leisurely. 

It scares her- so she lets go. She pulls back; watches her life like trains on a track once again. 

\--

Emily gets along with her family. 

It makes her heart sing- almost, to see them laughing like they have known each other for years when she comes back from the bathroom. 

Lunch is everything and so much more, how their faces felt so nice next to each other, how just a slight hand on her shoulder made her cheeks redden and her hair stand on end. 

Emily’s presence is comforting, and excited, and new and bright, and happy. She brings with her everything JJ had ever wanted in her life. 

\--

JJ dreams in black and white. 

It’s never been something she noted- was always just a fixture of her night. But, as her pale white arm reaches out in front of her to the woman, glitching like the screen of a 50’s television, the sepia hue seeping through-

It’s off-putting. 

“Roslyn?” She murmurs, voice muffled. 

She turns around, and  _ god _ . She hasn’t aged a day. Her eyes- always so warm and full of life glitter and JJ can almost make out the brown tone, standing stark against the black sky. 

“JJ,” Roslyn mutters softly. 

She sees her often, in this world that she dreams of. Sometimes it’s the past- a day on the bench in the park with ice cream, the first time she learned to ride a bike. Other times it’s what a future could have been like- if she would have ever had nephews or nieces, or have helped her move in. 

Rarely do they ever speak of something new. 

Roslyn surges forward, enveloping her in a tight hug. JJ’s arms cross around her back, hesitant to touch- as she may just float away like the ghost she is. 

“Ros,” she whispers. “It’s good to see you.” 

Roslyn pulls back, to study her face. 

She’s taller than her sister now- it’s strange to look down at her. 

Roslyn opens her mouth, the hint of a smile gracing her face as it always used to and JJ expects words- encouragement, love, regret. 

“Don’t trust her,” Roslyn rasps out. 

“What?” JJ stumbles back, thrown at the shaky growl surrounding Roslyn’s voice. Her smile continues to grow, cutting through her face, failing to reach her eyes; whose warmth has faded into a cold, empty, lifeless husk. 

“The girl,” Roslyn begins a heavy march forward, arms swinging at her sides. “Do not trust the girl.” 

JJ trips over feet, relegated to scramble backward on her hands. “Ros, Ros,” she yelps, her nails scratching at an invisible floor. 

Roslyn’s smile has morphed into a jack-o-lantern grin, her pupils dilated to the point where even the rim of her warm brown eyes has yet to shine through. Her teeth sharpen, leaving her face a wolven shape- like the points of her teeth have turned her into a monster. 

She snarls, and leaps forward, her hands suddenly clenching around JJ’s neck. The deceptive strength of her delicate arms refuses to let her go, even as her own calloused hands grasp upwards, nails tearing at the other’s white skin. 

“Ros,” JJ breathes, hands now beginning to fail. “We- I-” 

In one final attempt, JJ flings her hand blindly, and it connects, the sharp slap of flesh on flesh echoing through the land. Roslyn’s hands weaken in her shock, and JJ falls backward over a ledge that has yet to exist. 

A scream rips from her throat, and the last thing she sees his Roslyn’s grinning, the open face staring down at her as the wind tears at her clothes and she-

Awakes with a breathy gasp, laying beside Emily. The sheets tangle between them, and she blearily glances around the room. Candles, mirrors, the comforter on the floor- she was trying to stave off the ghosts. 

JJ rubs a hand against her eyes, breathing in deeply. Just a dream. 

She glances down, Emily’s soft skin flush despite the cool night. 

‘The girl’. 

\--

It’s not like she means to listen to dream, premonition, vision- whatever you want to call it. 

But it’s just that every time Emily comes near her, all the echoes that fill her mind are of Roslyn’s grating, discordant snarl that fills her mind with memories of what never was. Despite the overwhelming niceties of Emily close- the feeling of ghost Roslyn’s nails scraping down her arms is too much to bear. 

She’s never fucked with ghosts. 

Even as a child, when she was 7 or 8, Roslyn would hold her close when the cottage would creak and shutter and doors would fly open and shut. She’d tell her that if they were good- if they did as they were told- they could never get to them. 

Even when the old owner passed away peacefully in her sleep- JJ was sure not to rouse her body, and they all gave her a proper burial, away in the quiet of the garden. 

She has few memories of her before home. 

Before here- she was maybe 4- she remembers a woman with short blonde hair holding her arms so,  _ so  _ tight, a balding man throwing her up in the air and catching her. Those memories are nice. She remembers playing on the swings, she remembers running through a thick forest full of trees that went farther than she could see. 

But the one concrete memory? 

She remembers a woman telling her, in a soft hushed voice at a quiet field full of large stones- ‘ _ We respect the dead, JJ. You’ll learn to respect the dead.’ _

Something about that- the way the woman whispered right into her ear, the way a cold smatter of rain brushed her feet- sends chills down her arms, and brings tears to her eyes. 

So she’s kind to Emily. She makes nice meals for dinner, she speaks to her cordially in the morning, allows her in the bathroom first. 

Spencer brings it up on the second day. 

He hasn’t turned a page in almost 2 minutes- which is an absolute first, for a man who reads at the speed of light. 

“What’s between you and Emily?” He blurts. 

JJ sighs, eye twitching in annoyance as she sets down her own novel to roll her eyes. “Ever the one for tact,” she groans. “Nothing. Nothing is between us.” 

Spencer points a finger. “Don’t try that with me. I know you.” 

JJ waves him off. “Yeah, yeah.” 

Spencer puts his own book down beside her, feet coming off the table beside her onto the floor. “Just a few days ago,” He starts, eyes searching the room before continuing in hushed tones, “You were all over her- a total  _ stranger _ , may I add. All ‘Oh my god, Emily’s is so hot,’ and ‘Have you seen her she’s built like a  _ model _ , bull-”

“Okay, okay!” JJ flushes at his mockery. “Whatever, but did I even ask?” 

Spencer raises his eyebrows, pursing his lips. “Fine. I just think it’s weird that you would suddenly have a change of heart.” He drops his head. “Is she a spy?”

JJ swats at his hand. “You’re so stupid! She is not a fucking spy!” 

JJ’s eyes flit about the room once more, before she lowers her voice. “I had a visit.”

Spencer blinks. “From Roslyn?”

“Yeah.” 

Spencer’s warm brown eyes quickly morph, filled with empathy. “Jayje..” He awkwardly wraps an arm around her. “You can’t keep letting this-” 

“Don’t.” JJ whispers. “I can’t  _ not  _ listen to her.” 

Spencer leaves with another awkward hug, a long glance at Emily, and an abandoned crossword puzzle. 

\--

It’s funny how quick Emily worms her way into the stubborn mess JJ calls a heart. 

“So,” JJ says, handing her a bottle of Smirnoff to take a swig from while she finishes off a shitty margarita. “Tell me about you.”

Emily grimaces at the burn, eyes watering as she blinks them open. “My life? What do you even wanna hear?” 

JJ flops down, her brain fuzzy. “I don’t know,” she giggles. “Something funny.”

Emily stays sitting up, swaying ever so slightly. “I used to be goth.” She posits. 

JJ's eyes widen, and her mouth begins to slowly widen. “You’re kidding,” she whispers. 

“I’m not.” Emily almost looks fearful. 

“You’re kidding!” 

“I’m not!” 

JJ throws her head back, cackle ripping from her throat. It’s an impossible sight to imagine- well-put-together CEO Emily Prentiss, with her classy manicure and french bob, rocking Liberty Spikes and heavy eyeliner. 

“Stop it!” Emily slurs, patting at her arm. “It’s not funny.” 

“It’s so, so, so, so funny,” JJ gasps, grabbing Emily’s arm. “So funny.” 

Emily hangs her head in shame. “I thought I was sexy.” 

JJ struggles to breathe.

\--

She tells her about Roslyn. And she knows- she can feel that Emily doesn’t understand, doesn’t believe in ghosts. 

But she gets it. 

That’s all she can ask for. 

\--

It’s difficult to ‘date’ in a small town like Sparrow Falls. She’s been on a handful- and a really fun few blind dates in the city, a really weird experience with Spence as teens- but all in all, the majority of her life she’s been single. 

Which is fine. 

But, as she wakes up bright and early, sore limbs stretching and joints creaking noisily to prepare god knows what for a woman she intimately knows and doesn’t- she wishes she had a bit more practice with this. 

JJ busies herself in the kitchen, sticking a pan of sticky cookie dough into the oven, careful to avoid the sizzling tray brushing against her skin. 

Morgan said a picnic would be a good idea-  _ “If you wanna get some lady-loving, you gotta show some love to the lady,”  _ and Penelope had excitedly lit up at the idea of JJ taking someone on a date. Spencer had suggested ‘their spot’ with a tight smile, and a light pat on her back. 

It would be a good thing for her- to get out of the cabin she so loved, yet felt so caged in. 

She packs the sandwiches in tinfoil. 

It crinkles as she places it in the basket, on top a Tupperware of cookies and a bottle of her own peach preserves. 

JJ’s head perks right up when she hears a loud yawn and rustle, ignoring the way her face splits in a smile at Emily’s sleepy mention of the blonde. 

She hopes Emily likes it. 

  
  


\--

Roslyn comes to her again that night- when Emily and her few belongings are gone from the cabin and the entire house echoes with the emptiness. 

She stands with her back facing her this time- dressed in a white cloth, and long blonde hair tumbling past her shoulders. Her image wavers and blinks in front of JJ, threatening to wink out of existence altogether. 

“Ros,” JJ whispers. 

When Roslyn turns, she is not met with the same monster that crawled out of her mind days ago. 

No- what she sees makes her stomach plummet. 

Roslyn’s face blurs together into one big blend of tan, golden skin, the features blended together into a mixing pot. When she speaks, it reverberates through the room, not coming out of her mouth which has left its place, but surrounding JJ, encapsulating her. Wind rushes out towards her, forcing her to tumble one, two, three steps back. 

“Who left, JJ?” Her voice claps like thunder, rushing against JJ’s eardrums. 

“Who?” JJ’s hair whips around her face.

“Who left?” Roslyn doesn’t press any closer, but the thunderous voice threatens to close in on her body. 

“E-Emily,” the words stumble past her lips. “Emily left today-” 

“Who left?” Roslyn’s figure winks again, and as JJ blinks she can swear Roslyn has come closer. 

“I ju- I just told you!” She cries, hands clenching. 

The room grows silent, the wind coming to a stop like a wall has slammed down against it. Roslyn is suddenly up, right in her space. 

Gone are the warm, honey brown eyes that once watched her ride her brand new, bright red bicycle. 

Her soulless, lifeless eyes reappear on the amalgamation of her face, looking up at her- and JJ’s stomach seizes up in terror. 

“Who left?” This time- yes, this time her voice is near-silent. A mumble that barely catches her ear yet stops her breathing with its quiet roar. 

JJ’s eyes smart with tears. 

“You did.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so when i had the plan layed out for this story I wasn't expecting so many ghosts. but I think this is one of my fav chapters so far. it felt so raw to write scenes with ros  
> i may add a chapter on as well lmfao i have a new idea... evil idea...   
> plz tell me what u thought ehehe. this is unedited so, feeling a lil insecure
> 
> tumblr @gothwyfe


	11. of the story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Doesn't it hurt more to leave than to stay?"
> 
> Maybe so.

She dreams of the angel again that night. 

That night in Derek’s guest bedroom, with a wet pillow and muffled sobs- when her mind quiets enough for her to, at last, be put to rest in the wee hours of the morning. 

This time, the angel does not beckon to her. Her strong, tanned hand is wrapped protectively around her own waist, staring into the murky depths of the dark, churning water. Her hair frames her face in a halo- seeming to glow despite the dreary rain of the day. 

Emily can’t do this.

She turns on her heel, attempting to walk away from the pull of the river- but three steps in, and she’s beside the angel. 

Emily blinks, head snapping around. The churning lake laps at her heels, water cool and refreshing. 

The angel looks up, her solemn, melancholy face making Emily’s heart stutter. Her mouth is downturned, and despite the way she faces Emily, she stares off into the trees behind her. She can’t see her eyes.

Emily desperately wants the angel to glance down.

The angel does not comply with her inner thoughts. She continues to stare, and the water begins to swirl in patterns against the hem of her pants. 

“Do you know why you’re here?” 

Emily blinks again, dumbfounded. “What?” 

The water begins to move up further- but it’s lukewarm now? Emily tries desperately to move her head, to look down but the angel speaks again, the hushed, soft tone reverberating through her eardrums. 

“You know why you’re here.” She now states, seeming satisfied, continuing to stare off to nothing. 

“I- I don’t.” Emily stammers, trying to catch the angel’s eye. She looks so familiar- 

“ _ You know _ .” The other’s tone shifts, brimming with anger. 

“I don’t!” She blurts, beginning to panic as the water rises, turning warmer. It begins to sting. 

The angel’s head spins on her shoulders, the once calm black trees begin to shriek with maniacal laughter. 

Emily picks her leg up- yet to no avail. It’s almost as if it’s been glued to the muddy bank, and the water continues to rise, almost reaching her waist. It burns, it burns, _ it burns- _ not just her skin, not just the water but her  _ mind _ , searching for the angel’s face, which droops and festers with red-hot anger- 

\-- 

Derek wordlessly hands her a cup of coffee that morning.

She must look an absolute mess, hair standing up and dark crescents forming under her eyes. Her skin is pallor, whiter than usual, standing out against her dark eyes and hair. 

She gratefully accepts. 

They stand together on his porch, watching the trees rustle. That’s one thing that doesn’t get old- how in this small, small town, offered her the privacy she needed. Every home was isolated from the other, and from here she could barely see into town. 

It was early morning still, and dark, dreary clouds hung low over the hill Derek’s house sat on.  _ ‘Maybe it’ll rain soon,’ _ she mused. 

His place was nice, clean, orderly. Obviously, some fun splashes of Garcia and Reid were around- a fuzzy pink ballpoint pen, a large book on the science of STEM cell reproduction. 

There was a lot of JJ there too. A small basket of jams in those same reusable mason jars she loved so much, an extra leash- though Derek didn’t own a dog- and a large knit blanket, made of an amalgamation of many bright colors. 

Derek took a deep sip of his coffee, letting out a sigh. 

“You know, I built this house.” He says, the hot cup casting steam into his face. 

Emily raised her eyebrows. “Really,” she said. 

“Yeah.” Derek slaps a hand down, hard, smacking the wood. “From the ground up.” 

Emily chuckles, leaning against the rail. She’s not really in the mood for some big man-fest. “That’s. That’s interesting, Derek.” 

“My point is,” he continues, steamrolling over her obvious end to the conversation. “Sometimes a result is worth the work.” 

Emily blows on her cup, continuing to watch the deer in the forest pass by so quietly. “Mmhm.” She replies, curt. 

“But,” Derek’s voice gets a little louder. “There were some troubles along the way, as well.” 

Emily rolls her eyes, “Derek, if you think using your house as a metaphor is a way to get me to tell you what happened, you are sorely mistaken.” 

Derek raises his eyebrows, looking right through her. He raises his eyebrows in an ‘ _ are you sure?’ _ type of fashion. 

“No,” she insists. “You are getting nothing out of me.” 

“C’mon,” he coaxes, putting the coffee down on the rail. “You can’t show up at my house on your last day here- and be all weird about it, too- and not expect me to have some questions.” 

Emily breathes out heavily through her nose. “I really don’t want to talk about it.” She sighs, at last turning to face with him, pleading with her eyes. 

Derek raises his arms. “Okay,” he submits. “You don’t gotta tell me anything you don’t want to.” 

It’s true- she really doesn’t want to talk about it. Re-living the sight of JJ’s confusion turned to the shock of betrayal, the way Emily turned on her heel and ran like a  _ coward _ , the way she sat on a rock outside the alcove hiding the gorgeous waterfall- thinking about all the things she’s never going to say. 

Still, she opens her mouth- and she can’t stop the word from falling, a soft utterance that barely sounds over the rustle of the trees. 

Her mother had always said she was much too detached for a woman. 

But that’s the way she was raised- emotions cloud your judgment, get you into messes that you can’t pull your sorry ass out of. Time and time again, she allows herself to be vulnerable, to allow someone into her heart- like with Ian. And time and time again, she is left shivering and alone. 

Even her own mother looked at her with a steely, cold look in her dark eyes. Eyes that always followed her, and only ever held a quiet, minute disappointment. 

The way she longed for JJ, the way she traced every one of her ethereal movements, the way her flaws were nothing but gorgeous to her. It was freeing- it was like the dam she’d hid behind for the cold,  _ long,  _ better half of a decade had at last burst, waking her from her self-imposed cocoon. 

But ultimately- it’s damning. She could never be that person, that would throw away her life for an idea, for a silly little hope of something,  _ anything _ . 

As much as she’s ever wanted to. 

And as much as she would. 

Derek’s expression doesn’t change throughout her monologue. He watches her, concerned and serious, never once flickering. 

“Prentiss,” he finally sighs, leaning back on the chair they had found themselves on.

She watches her feet, clothed in JJ’s borrowed socks. Maybe she’d have to return them one day. 

“Prentiss here,” she mutters, trying light-heartedly for a joke. 

It begins to drizzle. 

“JJ and I,” Derek says. “We have been very close for a long time. That’s something you can’t usually tell about us- what with the way I am with pretty boy and Penelope,” he leans on his knees with his elbows, moving forward. 

“But I have known that woman since I was a child.” 

Emily shakes her head. “That’s great,” she replies. 

You tell a man your problems and you get this in return- it’s what she should have expected. 

“So listen to me,” he continues. “When I say she is  _ the  _ most loyal and reliable person I have ever met in my life. And what she did? For you? Was her way of trying to show it.” 

Emily’s head sags. “Way to make me feel better, Derek.” 

“Hey, hey- I’m not done.” Derek narrows his eyebrows. “Look at me.” 

She obliges, begrudgingly. 

“It’s not about what she feels for you, okay?” And that’s what catches her off guard. “You need to take care of yourself before you can care for someone else.

“And I get that- that you are getting into something new, something you’ve never had before,” Emily quirks her eyebrow, “Well- that wasn’t quite like this- a relationship that you’ve never felt so strongly about before, and you feel like you’re drowning.

“But I think there is only one question you can ask yourself here.”

She meets his gaze. 

Derek’s deep brown eyes bore into her soul, looking right through her. They are hard yet genuine- and she’s glad that she knew she could come here last night. She’s glad that he always seems to know something a little more than everyone else, and that he opened the door when the sun had begun to set without question. 

“Doesn’t it hurt more to leave than to stay?” 

\--

Hotch picks her up in the afternoon. 

She darts out of the house, head protected from the now pouring rain under a cheap umbrella. Derek promised she could keep. 

She’d send him a check for it later. 

Rossi comes to see her off, pressing a firm Italian kiss to both her cheeks, waving a hasty goodbye to the black SUV, with shouts of  _ ‘come to visit, Bella! _ ’ following the trail. Derek watches as well- from the porch, with a tight-lipped smile. 

Emily sinks into the soft leather upholstery, water droplets falling against the rubber-protected floor of the car and seeping into the leg of her pants she hadn’t worn since she arrived. 

With the rain, it’s muggy out. The kind of heat that has you uncomfortably lukewarm, and allows misty fog to settle on your upper lip. 

It’s fitting, almost. 

She arrived at Sparrow Falls on one of the hottest days that year, thrown into a passionate, blistering heat against her will. 

Now? She leaves on a muggy, dreary, run of the mill rainy day. And the only one to blame for it is herself. 

She cranks up the dial on the AC. 

“So?” Hotch asks, and she physically must fight the urge to groan. 

“So, what?” She replies, refusing to turn and face him. Hopefully, he gets the hint-

“How was your stay?” He says. It’s very annoying, actually, for no plausible reason. 

Emily rolls her eyes. “Great.” she mocks, under her breath. 

She doesn’t really know how to tell him that she thinks she has been more in love with a woman she ran away from than she’s ever been with anything in her life. 

It’s not like he’d get it- how she might’ve, in another world- fallen in love with a woman she’s only known for two weeks. 

How she’s probably in love with her in this world. 

“What did you like about it?” 

_ God _ . 

She wonders if this is how he talks to this two-year-old, Jack. No wonder the kid’s always crying. 

“The scavenger hunt and playground!” Emily says, oozing as much excitement and enthusiasm into the words as she can muster. 

Hotch lifts a hand off the wheel in surrender. “Okay, just asking,” he says incredulously. “What’s  _ with  _ you?” 

Emily leans her head against the window, which is unfortunately the same kind of muggy warm as it is outside. “Nothing,” she groans. “Just leave me alone.” 

“Got it,” he mutters. He glances over at her. “Come to pick up your friend in some random town, and she can’t even talk about it,” he whispers under his breath. 

She hopes the death-glare she viciously shoots him cuts as much as she wants it to. 

They drive in silence like that, for about a half-hour. Emily watches the trees and abandoned houses flicker by, the only thing accompanying her mind being the hum of the engine.

_ ‘It’s for the best,’ _ she reasons with herself.  _ ‘You and JJ wouldn’t have worked out anyway.’  _

“So uh,” Hotch finally breaks the silence, as they near the city. “You see any ghosts? Fairies? Monsters? Haley’s always been into that kind of stuff.” He says, amusement painting the tone. 

Emily’s head, however, snaps up. “What did you say?” She says. 

“Uh,” Hotch’s eyebrows knit together. “I said, ‘Haley’s always been into that kind of stuff,’ if I remember-” 

“No, no, no, before that.” Emily cuts him off. “What did you say before that.” 

“Ghosts, fairies-”

“Why would you say that?” Emily demands, inching closer to the cupholder separating them. 

“Well,” Hotch face scrunches in confusion. “I had to find the directions to this place- apparently there are ghost sightings like all the time,” 

“Oh my god.” Emily’s eyes widen with understanding. She never did catch those eyes. 

“We need to turn back,” she whispers. 

Hotch’s face turns from confusion to disbelief. “What did you say?” 

“We need to turn back!” Her voice hardens with steel, looking him dead-on. 

“Emily,” Hotch takes his attention off the road, instead, twisting his body to look at her. “ _ What _ is wrong with- we’re almost back home! We can’t-” 

“Aaron,” she grits. “I have never in my life been so dead serious. You need to fucking turn around right now and take me back.” 

His mouth falls open, and he pulls out of traffic to stop on the shoulder. “Emily, what the  _ fuck _ !” He shouts- all meager attempts to reason gone. 

“Yes.”

“What?” It would be funny in another time- the way his face has so quickly cycled all three emotions he rarely ever uses in such a short span of time. 

The figure that so tortured her earlier is clear in her mind now- and sits framed on JJ’s wall, smiling next to a bright red tricycle, the blonde hair glittering. She can’t believe she didn’t realize it sooner. 

“Yes, I saw a ghost.” Emily finally concedes. “Turn. Around.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha did u catch what i did with the chapter names  
> anyways almost at the end of my entire fic the subplot is revealed whoopdedoo. plz leave a comment sometimes I feel like im screaming into the void with this ahahha
> 
> tumblr @gothwyfe u already knowww bitch


	12. goodbye, and forever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and JJ figure it out- but they need some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i been gone xoxo.   
> tw: for depictions of depression. I also want to make it clear right here that I am not making Roslyn's depression out as a villain.

Roslyn tied her long blonde hair back with a red ribbon, hands coming up to pull together above her head. “Just like this, Jenny,” she said lightly, pushing up with her toes, elongating her body. 

JJ reached up with her chubby hands, jumping and landing heavily. It’s more difficult than you’d think, at five years old. 

Roslyn laughed, the melody ringing through the alcove. “Come on, put some effort in!” she showed her again. 

Roslyn was always so pretty. She was tall and lean and had brown eyes that sparkled in the sun- and she moved pretty as well. Gracefulness that translated in every moment of hers, sweeping arms and long legs- whereas JJ moved like a newborn foal. 

JJ hops again, the frills on her swimsuit bouncing.

Roslyn’s lip juts out, studying her up and down. 

Then suddenly, she’s grabbed by the arms, thrown up into the air like a ragdoll with a loud screech. She barely catches the end of Roslyn’s holler, before she’s submerged, cool water surrounding her and flooding her ears. 

She paddles up with her small body, gasping for her air as she reaches the surface- just as another splash hits her hard, hitting her skin sharply. 

Roslyn grabs her in her long arms, smothering her in a big hug as she spins, JJ’s wet hair flying, water darting through the air like daggers. 

JJ’s laugh catches in her throat with a stutter as Roslyn slows down, finally setting her down on a rock by the bank of the creek. She smiles at her older sister as she sits down beside her, and leans her wet head against her arm. 

“Roslyn,” she finally says, childishly. 

“Yeah?” Her sister responds. 

“Can you promise me something?” Her voice lowers to a volume barely heard over the running stream. 

“Of course, Jenny,” Roslyn answers, twisting herself to keep JJ’s eye. 

“Promise me you’ll never leave?” 

\--

Emily and Hotch storm into town. 

Well. 

Rather, Emily stomps in hell-bent on her mission, while Hotch stumbles behind her, trying to keep up the entertained appearance of an esteemed businessman. 

It’s still drizzling- but it doesn’t bother her, even as she runs to Derek’s house through the thick of the forest. 

“Emily,” Hotch calls after her, huffing as she sprints to catch up. “Wha-  _ Emily,”  _

“What?!” She stops, turning on her heel to glare, conveying all her emotions into one stare. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” He says, stepping closer. “I have never seen you act this way, ever,” he places a steadying hand on her shoulder, but Emily shrugs it off, biting her lip to stop a curse from flying out of her mouth. 

“Hotch,” her voice is made of pure steel, “I need you to stay out of this, okay? Just- just please  _ trust  _ me.”

Hotch lets his hand fall, mouth hanging open wordlessly. “I…”

Emily clenches her hand. “ _ Please _ .”

He watches, mouth terse, and shoulders tense. 

“I trust you.” 

\--

JJ used to color a lot when she was younger. 

She would take the waxy crayon in her hand, clutching it and watching the colors take hold of the page. The green in the sky, the purple at the bottom, spreading over white sheets. 

She never left a page blank. 

That was how their days would go when she was young. Roslyn would spend hours in the yard, and JJ, barely brushing 7, would sit inside, hand her tools and color in a world she saw in her dreams. 

“Jenny!” Roslyn called, the breeze ghosting past her as the cottage door flies open. “Wrench?” 

JJ would toddle over, back then, reach her hands up to the countertop and carefully sort through the assortment, and make her way right back. She’d hand the tool right up to her sister, watching her face to make sure it was right. 

That was the kind of way she’d live. Always looking for her approval- because Roslyn was truly all she had. And the way she’d give her a soft smile, ruffle the blonde hair atop her head, and move right back out- well, that was everything.

\--

Penelope watches her carefully, through narrowed eyes over her shiny matte glasses. “And… how could you know this?” 

Derek nods beside her. “Emily, I know we had words before- but this is all just so much to absorb-” 

“I know. I know.” Emily raises her arms. “It’s- it’s fucking insane to think about but- I promise you, I just want to help her.

“I  _ need  _ to.”

“I get that,” Derek says. “I  _ do _ , but you bring your friend here-” he motions to Hotch, “and you spew this stories that JJ barely trusted us with, and you-”

“We should listen.” 

Emily turns to Spencer, mouth agape. Of all the people she’d expected to side with her, the least of all was him. He’d watched the interaction with a tight mouth, judgment seeping from his eyes. 

Honestly, it was expected. JJ’s best friend, one of the few others she’d trusted Roslyn’s memory with- and the fact Emily had left in a rush, leaving only questions? 

She’s surprised he didn’t jump her. 

His hands twist together as he speaks. “There was… there was a while when JJ was telling me of these dreams. 

“The dreams- it’s unlike anything else. They would be so vivid, and terrifying and loud. But there was always one thing- a woman in white.” 

The angel.

“You all know,” he turns to look at Derek and Penelope, watching them with questioning eyes, “how she always said she felt like Roslyn was still there?” 

They nod. 

“If… if what Emily says is true… it’s possible it wasn’t just a feeling.” 

\--

Roslyn sometimes spends days in her room. 

JJ is only ten, but she knows enough to stir pots of Kraft Mac & Cheese and lock the doors. 

Mr. Rossi will give her a ride to school, and she will take out her apple and string cheese for lunch with Spencer. 

She will come home quietly, leaving her coat at the door like Roslyn always taught her. She’ll take up a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and knock gently on the door, and leave the dish right beside all the others. 

“Sometimes, people get sick, Jenny.” Mr. Rossi would try to explain to her when she cries loudly and begs her sister to play ponies outside. 

“Don’t call me that,” she’d answer tearfully. “She’s been sick for so long. Why can’t she go to a doctor?” 

Mr. Rossi would stare behind her, filled with guilt. “It’s not always that easy. Hey- how about we go into town for a bit?” 

She took his hand that day, and let him lead her away from the house. 

\--

“Say this is all true,” Derek says, splaying his hands out across the table. “JJ’s not home- so Roslyn wouldn’t be either. Where would she take her?” 

“Ghosts are strongest where they passed,” Hotch breaks his silence, inner musings spoke aloud. “Is it possible she didn’t die in the house?” 

Emily turns to face him, astonished. 

Quite a few surprises today, huh? 

“I uh- I know a bit about… the supernatural. It’s all Haley.” 

Emily nods. “Yeah.” 

“That can’t be right, though.” Penelope, says scrunching her eyebrows. “I remember that day clearly- we were like, 11, and JJ had just passed her math test. She ran to show her upstairs…” 

“-and then we had to leave.” Reid cuts in. “Rossi came by and told us we had to go back home. So we can assume…” he doesn’t have to finish his sentence. It’s most likely she died there. 

Derek knits his eyebrows together. “Something was off about Rossi when he came down, though, don’t you remember?” He stands up, pacing around the couches. “He was frazzled, he was panicky- he wasn’t sad, or even scared.

“What if she wasn’t dead yet?” 

Penelope’s mouth falls open. “You’re saying… you think they took her-?” 

The room falls pin-drop silent. Emily waits with bated breath.

“The nearest hospital is 35 minutes south,” Spencer whispers. “JJ didn’t come back out afterward.” 

It’s impossible to think of. An eleven-year-old, seated in a car beside her dying sister. 

Emily startles back at the sudden noise, as Derek slams his hands down on the table, rocking the seat. “Fuck,” he hisses. “She never told us.” 

Penelope’s eyes glisten, and she places a hand on his arm. “I know,” she whispers. “How could we have…” 

“Hey,” Emily says. “We can’t just sit here- We  _ need  _ to save JJ.” 

“But… how?” Spencer asks. 

Emily turns to him, walking past to the door. “We start with David Rossi.”

\--

“Ros,” she whines, waving her plastic horse around. “Ros, come on, let’s play.”

“Not now, Jenny,” she groaned. The room smelled terrible, dust seeping through every crevice. Sunlight barely streamed across her face in rivulets, through the cracks in her closed blinds. Roslyn’s hair is matted- and has a strange, gray tint to it. 

She doesn’t turn to face her. 

“Ros,  _ pleaseee _ ,” JJ begs, to no avail. Her sister waves her off. 

JJ huffs, stomping her foot. It’s not fair of her sister- she can lay around all day- when JJ has to make dinner and do the laundry and go to school. She can at least come outside to play with her. 

She wades through the dirty clothes painting the floor and pulls on the blinds with all the force she has in her small arms. 

Roslyn stays laid on her side, eyes open in horror at the blinds broken over her floor. 

JJ gapes for a second, before stepping back into the sharp corner of the desk. Tears stung at her eyes. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to,” she says. 

“Why would you do that,” Roslyn’s voice cracks, face scrunched from the full force of the bright sun. “Why would you-” she falls flat, mouth still open wide. 

“I’m- I’m sorry,” JJ stammers, retreating back into the wall. “It’s just blinds-” 

“Get out.” 

“What?” JJ says. 

“Get. OUT!” Her voice slams into JJ with the force of a 100-ton truck. 

Roslyn’s yelled at her before- when she spends too long in the shower in the morning, when she goes to Penelope’s without telling, when she spills orange juice all over her favorite shirt. 

But it’s never been so full of anger- so full of resentment, her voice strained with wet tears, her face red with flame- and it’s never been so clearly at her. 

She did this. 

JJ leaves the room quietly, shaking with unshed tears. 

\--

Penelope Garcia is quite possibly one of the nicest people Emily has ever had the honor of meeting. 

But never,  _ ever _ , let that get in your head- because sitting here, across Rossi in Town Hall, watching her face turn more hostile by the second? Is enough to make Emily feel the wrath of God herself. 

Her hands shake on the glass- yet she chooses not to say anything, relegating herself to watch Derek interrogate Rossi on the events of that night. Spencer’s eyebrows stay furrowed as he draws out the shaky foundations of a map- making sure Rossi gets every crook and cranny of the route taken to the hospital. 

“We didn’t get there,” Rossi speaks ever so softly, eyes cast down. “She- She passed about halfway there,” he points to a spot on the map, right in the thick of the forest behind Derek’s home. 

“Are you joking?” Penelope finally says, voice shaking. “She passed in the car?” 

She lowers her voice, tears spilling from her eyes. “She passed next to JJ?” 

Rossi lowers his head, hand bouncing from his forehead to his chest. “May she rest in peace,” he whispers. 

“Why would you do that?” Emily finally says, voice colder than ice. “Why would you let JJ come with you- why would you let her  _ see  _ that?”

Rossi raises his head, defiant. “You think I would have, had I had a choice?” He bites. 

“There are ways around this. There are so many-  _ endless  _ ways,” Emily says, shaking her head. “She’s never been the same, has she?” 

“There was nothing else I could have done,” Rossi replies, hands splaying out. “She’s fine-” 

“She’s being haunted by the ghost of her dead sister!” Emily raises her voice, heels slamming down as she stands up. “She’s- she probably feels like she’s going  _ fucking  _ crazy, and we are sitting here trying to figure out exactly where her  _ goddamn  _ sister died so we can go save her from a- from a fucking  _ ghost _ !” 

It’s not like she took joy in the way Penelope bit her lip and Derek lowered his head. She didn’t want to watch Rossi’s old, gray face fall, chock full of remorse. 

She storms out, unable to bear the sad faces. They did this- not her. She couldn’t- It wasn’t her choice-

She sighs, sitting down on the damp wood porch of Rossi’s house. 

The gratuitous forest spans out in front of her, covering her vision for miles ahead. Dark, swaying trees, green with life but black bark hiding mysteries untold- just the forest for a ghost haunting. 

It’s funny to think- just a little less than a month ago, she would have never entertained the idea of ghosts. Stupid, childish tall tales if you’d have asked her. Even if you account for the fact that she can always somewhat hear her mother, spitting orders in her ear. 

But now? It just seems to make sense, filling in all those little strange details of her life here. Creaking floors at night, animals always just a little too spooked to stay in the house, JJ’s wandering eyes- things that always made this place a little too… unreal. 

_ “There’s a magic about this town,”  _ Rossi told her, all those years ago. 

He wasn’t surprised when she burst out, about the haunting. She wonders if he knew.

“Emily?” Hotch’s voice floats through the air, grabbing her attention. She twists around to face him, taking a deep breath. She wants- no she  _ needs-  _ to keep it together long enough to find JJ. That’s what’s important right now. 

“You ready?” He asks. “We’re going to go the path just around… hopefully they can find something.” 

She steels her nerves, closing her eyes for the barest moment, still cast out to the forest. 

“I’m ready.”

\--

JJ doesn’t cry. 

In fact, she hasn’t since she sat across from her, begging, sobbing for her to keep her eyes open  _ just a minute longer, Ros, please, we’ll be there soon.  _

Rossi stays beside her for the entire service. 

Roslyn’s funeral is pathetically short. A Dr. Blake speaks, commends her sister on her vast knowledge. Says she’s sad she’ll never be able to debate with her the origins of Welsh phrases again. 

Spencer goes up too, barely tall enough to reach the podium. “She’s- she was like the big sister I never, ever had,” he says shyly, microphone tilted down into his mouth. Rossi says he did it for her. 

It’s open-casket- the lady who took her says it’s a good chance for her to say goodbye, and that it’s important to look your loved one in the eye- but JJ can’t move from her seat way in the back of the service. 

She leaves with the rest of the crowd, head down, trailing behind Rossi until she reaches home, and sits down on the couch, feet swinging above the floor. 

_ “Promise me you’ll never leave?”  _

\--

JJ kneels across from the ghost of her sister, now. The stone scrapes against her knee, but it doesn’t matter to her- not when Roslyn is closer than she’s ever been.

Her face flickers, despite the darkness surrounding them. Overcast clouds shroud the canopy of trees above her, and she thinks it’s drizzling. 

“Why am I here?” She mumbles. 

Roslyn smiles softly. “I died today.” 

JJ blinks. Real blunt. “Yeah.” 

She knows-  _ god _ , she knows. There will never be a time she wouldn’t know. 

“I can see you, finally,” Roslyn whispers, a white hand coming out to cup her face. “Finally…” the mist comes to her face, and JJ flinches, curling back. 

Roslyn frowns. 

Her face looks sad- none of that warmth she held earlier. 

“How… how did I get here?” JJ murmurs, arms closing around her midsection. She doesn’t quite remember. 

“Mmm,” Roslyn hums, mouth curving up again. “It doesn’t matter honey,” she says. “I miss you.” 

“Miss me?” JJ feels her eyes wet, and her voice cracks on the question. “ _ Miss me?” _ she repeats. 

“Yeah, I,” her hand comes around again, and JJ falls back on the rock. 

“How can- How can you say you miss me?” she croaks. “How can you say you miss me when  _ you _ left me?

“Wha- Jenny,” 

“No,” JJ bites, eyes welling up. “Don-Don’t call me that, you don’t get to call me  _ that _ ,” 

“You can’t blame me!” Roslyn cries, drifting closer. “I was hurting, I couldn’t help it-” 

“You wouldn’t let us get you help! Ros- Rossi, he offered, he offered so many times!” 

“I couldn’t do that! And leave you?” 

JJ bites her lips, hugging herself. “It didn’t stop you in the end.” She rasps. 

It didn’t stop Emily. 

Roslyn sighs, finally moving away from her. The rain drips from the trees, and they sit in silence- just for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” she finally says. As if that could help. JJ laughs humorlessly, wiping at the stray tears with her pointer finger. 

“I just- I need you to do just one thing for us,” Roslyn mutters. 

JJ’s eyebrows furrow, and she frowns. “You want something from me?” She questions, turning to face her sister again. 

The cave rumbles, dust falling from the ceiling. “Wha-” 

The opening of the cave closes, leaving them in utter darkness and solitude. 

\--

“Jayje!” Penelope yells, hands cupped around her mouth. “Jennifer!” 

“Jennifer!” A multitude of voices ring through the air, and Emily pauses for a second on the trail, to catch her breath. 

Penelope stops beside her, hands going down to grab her knees. “This reminds me of a few days ago, huh?” She huffs. 

Emily frowns. “Huh?” 

“When we were looking for Jack?” She says, straightening up. “Remember, he was hiding in that little cave spot-” 

Emily pulls herself right up, eyes alight with alarm. “What did you say?” 

Penelope takes a few steps back, eyebrows raising. “When we were-” 

“No, no,” Emily says, “After that.” 

“Hiding in that little cave spot-” 

“That’s it!” Emily takes a deep breath and hollers for Spencer. 

With him comes the map, and Emily grabs it, eyes scanning through the page. She grabs a red marker, sticking the cap in her mouth. 

“Okay, so this,” she circles the five-mile radius of the area they are in. “is where we can assume Roslyn to have taken her. But wouldn’t we have seen them by now? How long has JJ been gone,” she asks, moving her eyes to Derek. 

He shrugs. “Last I heard from her, about 5, 6 hours ago?” 

“Okay,” she crosses off half the circle. “That’s how far she could have gotten.” she looks up, waving the map around. “So how come we haven’t seen them yet?” 

Rossi continues to look on, confused, but it starts to dawn on Spencer. “They must be underground-” he starts. 

“Exactly!” Emily bursts, marker falling to the ground. “Do you guys know any caves around here?” 

Spencer’s face pales. “Oh my god,” he whispers. “I know where she is.” 

\--

JJ tramps through the cave, wet ground kicking up into her ankles. 

“You know where we are now?” Roslyn asks, floating beside her. 

“We used to swim here,” JJ mutters, eyes downcast. “Too long ago,” 

“Yeah,” Roslyn gushes, floating right above a stone. She takes this as her cue to sit down, and JJ slips off her shoes, sticking her toes into the refreshing underground water. She remembers all those years ago, when she was but a toddler, following her sister around like she hung the moon, and all its stars. 

She remembers an unanswered question. 

“Why am I here, Ros,” she finally asks, hands coming up. “You fucking- you close the door to this place with some magic shit-” 

“Language,” Roslyn warns. 

“-and you don’t answer any of my questions, and float around- What do you want from me?” JJ finishes, hands coming down with frustration. It doesn’t make sense. 

Roslyn continues to stare off, the painted smile stuck, unmoving on her face. “Don’t you miss us, Jenny?” 

JJ grimaces, “I-” 

“I’ve seen you grow up, J,” Roslyn steamrolls right over her. “Through your dreams, drifting through your home and seeing that  _ woman _ ,” her hand clenches tight, and the vision of her flickers. “Mess around with your feelings.” 

JJ blinks owlishly and stands up. Something… something is off. More than before. 

Roslyn shakes her head, hand finally coming loose of its tight grip. “Nevermind that. What I was trying to say is- despite all that, you’re going to be my baby sister. Always.” 

JJ creeps back, tiptoeing lightly. Something is not good…

Roslyn closes her eyes. “And I want us to be together- the two of us. I’ve finally realized, and this is the day we can do it. You can be my baby sister... forever.” 

JJ turns on her heel, ready to run, but her foot catches on a slippery pebble. She reaches out to grasp the cave wall, hand closing around an edge slipping out, but it does nothing to stop her fall, and she rams face-first into the pebbles. 

She groans, turning over, and opens her eyes to the sight of Roslyn, seething above her. “Going somewhere?” She taunts. 

JJ opens her mouth to scream.

\--

Emily pounds on the door of the cave. “Fuck!” She hisses, turning to lean against the door. “God- fuck,” she slides down, pulling her knees to her chest. 

Derek slides down beside her, cradling his hand from an earlier punch thrown at the indent in the cave. He closes his eyes, shaking his head. “This is so fucking insane.” 

Emily sniffles. “You’re telling me.” 

Derek tips his head back, exposing his neck. “We’re going to find her,” he mutters. “I have to find her.” 

Emily twists her neck to look at him. “I’m sorry,” she says, after a beat. 

Derek opens his eyes, eyebrows furrowing down. “What for?” 

“Well, Roslyn appeared in  _ my  _ dream, telling  _ me _ to stay away-” 

“Emily,” Derek’s strong hand finds her wrist. “Listen to me. This is  _ not  _ your fault.”

Emily falters, blinking fast. “No- I know, but-” 

“Hey. No buts-” Derek starts, moving closer, but he’s cut off by Penelope’s loud cry. 

“Guys! Come look at this!” 

Emily looks at Derek, frowning, but hikes around the cave, and glances up. “What?” She calls looking right up. 

Penelope’s face peeks out, and Spencer’s follows right after. “Look at this!” 

Derek groans, and then steadies himself on a large rock, giving Emily the boost up to crawl onto the top of the cave. She carefully makes her way over to Spencer. 

“This is the cave they used to go swimming in,” he mutters, studying something in front of him Emily can’t quite make out in the dark. “JJ brought me here once.” 

“And?” Emily retorts. They don’t have time for this. 

He moves, revealing an opening just large enough for one person. “I don’t- I don’t know if they’re in here,” he stammers, as her eyes widen at the sight. “It might be worth a lot of trouble for no results-” 

“Why else would the mouth be closed?” She demands, pushing him away to inspect the hole. 

“I don’t know- a landslide, maybe?” Penelope answers. 

Emily closes one eye, trying to peer into the puncture. “Well... I can’t see anything-” 

A scream comes from the inside of the cave, and Emily jumps back. “Oh my god,” she whispers, looking up at Spencer, whose face has turned ashen. 

Another scream comes through, and Emily gasps. “That-That’s JJ!” She yells, getting closer to the opening. “We need to go in-” 

“How?!”

Emily looks to Derek, fast enough to get whiplash. “You need to hold me,” she says, sticking her feet into the hole. “I’m going to find a rock to hold onto-” 

“That’s not safe!” Penelope says, hands moving up to her face in fear. 

JJ screams again, and Emily feels her heart sink. “I need to get to her,” she says, looking up. Emily drops, her entire lower half now hanging in the hole, and she barely balances, leaning all her weight on her elbows. _ ‘Grab me,’ _ she mouths at Derek. 

Derek grabs her hand, then the other, and she feels herself slowly drop into the hole, feet swinging. 

Another scream pierces her ears, and Emily feels herself fall. Derek slips with her, and Emily bites her tongue as she is barely caught. 

She wrenches open a previously shut eye. “We good?” She manages to say around the rapidly swelling cut. 

“We’re good,” Derek says breathlessly. “Spencer caught me… and Penelope caught him.” 

Emily barely huffs out a laugh. She inhales deeply again and drops her head down to try and make out the floor. She can catch a glimmer in the corner of her eye-

“Spencer!” She calls up. “You said they used to go swimming here?” 

“Yeah, but-” She doesn’t wait for the full answer. 

She readies herself and swings forward with her legs, feet scraping the cave wall. Derek barely manages to hold her momentum, but it’s unneeded- she lets go as soon as she sees herself above the water, plunging deep into the still lake. 

\--

Roslyn stands over her, dragging JJ by the arms as she yelps. “You… are gonna… thank me… for this…” she groans, breathless with the weight of her. 

JJ struggles, trying to aim punches at Roslyn’s ghostly form. “Let.. go!” She gasps, finally getting one of her arms free. JJ picks up a large rock from the bank, aiming it right at her sister’s head. 

It floats right through her- but JJ’s purpose is achieved. Roslyn’s grip loosens, and JJ is free, and running in whatever direction- just as long as she is far from her spirit. She keeps running and running, until finally, all she can hear is her own ragged breath, echoing in her ears. 

She turns back- nothing. JJ has a fleeting hope- just for a second. Is she gone?

“Boo.” 

JJ screams- but doesn’t even have a second to react before Roslyn is grabbing her by the hair, dragging her back towards the bank of the lake, the ethereal glow of the water somehow reaching all the way back to where they are. 

“Guess I have to be rough now,” Roslyn growls, marching her to the water, ignoring her growing cries. “I always tried to be a nice sister- but I only have ten minutes left.” 

“You- you don’t want this, Ros,” JJ sobs, grasping at her head. “The Ros I know would never try to do this.” 

Roslyn simply tightens her grip, making JJ see white. “I am the Ros you know, and I am doing this. You’ll thank me late-”

“Hey!” a new voice yells. Roslyn gasps, and miraculously, the grip is off her head.

JJ falls to the ground, cradling her hair. There’s not going to be much of that tomorrow. 

If there is a tomorrow. 

She manages to lift her head, ignoring the explosion of pain, and to her shock- finds Emily Prentiss wading through the stream in business casual, a pile of rocks seated against her chest. 

“Leave her alone!” Emily yells, water dripping from her hair. 

Ros growls, growing angry. “You-” 

“Yeah,” Emily challenges. “ _ Me _ .” 

Roslyn howls, and dives into the lake, grappling with the older woman. Emily drops her rocks, grabbing Roslyn’s ghost head- bashing it straight into her knee. 

It does nothing. Roslyn falls through, but comes right back up- pulling Emily’s hair, and biting her arm. 

Ouch. 

JJ stands up, trying to help- but falls back, eyes clenched at the tendrils of white-hot pain, expanding from her skull. 

Emily- who catches on pretty quickly, realizing she can’t fight this- and plunges into the water. Roslyn follows. 

JJ blinks. Once, twice-  _ oh _ .

JJ scrambles up to her feet, ignoring the way her vision swims with yellow. She can do this. Emily is doing this so she can get away. 

She shuts her eyes, using the cave wall to guide her as she tries to make her way through the cave, riding through the waves of fatigue. 

She hears a loud splash, and Emily’s screech- but she has to ignore that. She can’t be with Roslyn forever, she couldn’t do that-

She stops against the cave wall, sucking in a breath. 

There’s something she never did. 

JJ hastily takes another breath, and curls in on herself. “Ros?” she calls. “Ros,” and finally, finally she opens her eyes again. 

Roslyn stops in her tussle with Emily, looking up at her. She winks- and then suddenly, she appears right in front of her, cradling her head. 

“Jenny?” she whispers. 

JJ fights the urge to laugh. Of all things to call her now- at least it helps. It helps her make it make sense. 

“Rossi- he always said I needed to let go.” JJ breathes, looking straight into Roslyn’s eyes.

They are the one thing that makes them different- Roslyn’s eyes are a deep, dark brown- a stark contrast to JJ’s bright blue ones. 

“I never understood what he meant, until now.” She continues, staring head-on, taking in the way her face looks just barely wrong. “But I get it.” 

“I forgive you,” she says. “I accept you’re gone, I accept I’ll never see you again, and- and I accept it’s not your fault. 

Roslyn shakes her head. “J, I don’t understand-”

“You’re not her,” JJ says. “My sister is gone- and I won’t let you torment you, with your demented version of her.” 

Roslyn opens her mouth, her nostrils flaring in anger- but JJ doesn’t feel fear when she moves closer.

“Goodbye, Roslyn.”

\--

_ 5 days later _

“I don’t fucking know what happened,” Emily recounts, sitting staunchly in the guest seat of the town hospital. “I am never gonna understand, but I am not leaving her.” 

Spencer holds the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Okay, I get that- but you have been here almost 36 hours straight, and you need to at least go get some fresh air. This is insanity.” 

“What if she wakes up?” Emily demands, arms splaying out in question. “What if she wakes up and no one is here for her to see?” 

“I’ll be here!” 

“Yeah,” Emily eyes Spencer up and down. “No offense- you’re not really the greatest sight to see, especially after a coma. I would know.” 

Spencer rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I’m telling Rossi I tried.” 

“Hey! Wait!” Emily calls after his retreating back. “Bring back some of that garlic bread!”

She receives a very disrespectful hand gesture instead. 

Emily huffs, leaning back into her seat. Whatever. 

She sighs, looking over at JJ, asleep on the bed.

Spencer says she’s fine- that all her vitals are on track, and she’s breathing just fine- but if it’s all okay, why won’t she wake up?

Emily closes her eyes, tipping her head back to think of what happened 5 days ago. 

JJ had said those things- baiting Roslyn out of her fight with Emily. After that, it’s all a blur- the ghost had kind of disappeared into JJ, and she had just collapsed right there. Emily dragged her up to the original cave opening- which had miraculously opened, and from there it was all a matter of getting her treated to here. 

It’s kinda funny to think of how they ended up back here- opposite. But JJ is still the one who looks absolutely ethereal- her nose scrunches up just the slightest bit when she breathes, and her hair is splayed out around her. Penelope had insisted on brushing it during her visit, so it’s smooth, laid across the pillow. 

She would say she looks like an angel- but that word doesn’t work for her anymore. Maybe she’ll settle for cherub or something. 

She hasn’t had dreams since the incident in the caves. None at all, surprisingly. The last time she’d slept this well was when she fell asleep beside JJ. Well, the last few times. 

Emily groans, stretching out her arms, hearing the satisfying pop and crack as she straightens up. Spencer had a point- she’s absolutely exhausted. Never a good idea to sleep in a chair. 

She looks toward the door, biting her lip. JJ wouldn’t notice if she was gone for just a second… would she?

“Goin’ some’re?” She whispers, and Emily feels her bones jump right out of her skin. 

“Oh, shi- JJ?” She almost yells. Emily crouches down beside her. “JJ?” 

JJ blinks sleepily, before lazily smiling. “Heyyy,” she says softly. 

Emily laughs with relief. “Oh my god- thank god you’re okay.” She grins, looking down and JJ, rubbing her eyes. 

JJ breathes out. “Mhmm.” 

Emily stares, for just a second longer, before shaking her head. “I should call Spencer, he’d want to check on you-” 

JJ’s hand snaps out to grab her. “Wait. Just a second.” 

Emily turns back, biting her lip. She catches sight of JJ’s pleading eyes, though, and sits down. Just a second. 

JJ looks at her. “You came back.” She whispers. 

Emily feels her heart stutter. “Yes. I- yes. Of course.” 

JJ works up a fleeting smile, turning her face to look up at the ceiling. “Thank you.” 

Emily doesn’t know what to say. 

She can’t imagine a world that she hadn’t come back to JJ, come to think of it. The thought of going about her everyday life, without the blonde woman? Is a world she can’t bear to live in. 

“Don’t thank me.” Emily finally mutters, looking down at her hands. “I… the biggest mistake of my life was leaving again.” 

JJ chuckles humorlessly. “It’s fine.” 

“It’s- it’s not, though,” Emily pushes, scooting the chair closer to JJ. “I was a coward, and so stupid because I was afraid of loving you.” 

JJ blinks. “...loving me?” 

Emily’s mouth falls open. Fuck. 

She can imagine her mother standing next to her, shaking her head disapprovingly. Never to show vulnerability- but fuck that. 

Emily grabs JJ’s hand. “Yes,” she says, biting back the wave of fear. “I think I love you.” 

JJ rolls her head to look at Emily, gorgeous blue eyes taking in her face. “You… love me?” she mutters with a smile. 

Emily grins. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I do.” 

JJ laughs, pulling Emily down so their lips connect. It’s just like the first time again- soft, and slow, the one thing that can ground Emily’s mind and leave her speechless. Electricity sparks on her skin again, JJ’s hand fitting perfectly in her own, the other wrapped around the base of her neck. 

“I think I love you too,” JJ says when they pull away. Her eyes look up, searching Emily’s. “Enough that… I think this could be forever.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, hello, holy shit.   
> this is finally finished, after months of writing and planning. I'm so proud of it- even though I have a bunch of things I'd change in a re-write. whatevs lol. but really- i want to thank yall for the love, and I hope you continue to like this fic. I'm done with it, but it's always gonna hold a special place in my heart.  
> I hope yall love the ending as much as I do! i'd absolutely love to explain my take on things- but roslyn's ghost and jj's forgiveness are all up for interpretation.   
> i love you all. immensely.   
> more fics to come
> 
> tumblr @gothwyfe


End file.
